


DP: Ghost Zone

by HellsArchangel



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2018-08-17 00:04:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellsArchangel/pseuds/HellsArchangel
Summary: Published under the same name in FF.netThe school was going on a trip to the Bermuda triangle to make their reports on it a little more exciting than websites and articles. Unfortunately, the planes engine fails, and they crash on a currently unmapped island in the middle of the triangle. They survive for a while until the triangles portal opens up and pulls them into the ghost zone, but as they aren't moving, they don't go out the other part of the Bermuda triangle. With the plane in ruins and everyone else clueless on what do do and where to go, Danny takes charge. Will they make it out? And if they do, will Danny's secret stay a secret?





	1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR THE COVER IMAGE!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

Third Person POV

"Okay class! Settle down!" The bald, overweight, middle aged male standing in the front of the room bellowed. He raised his hand up to his chin, rubbing the hair there as if thinking. "Now, you all know that I sent home an e-mail to your parents a few days ago saying that we will be visiting the Bermuda triangle for an assignment, correct?" Heads nodded and kids whispered excitedly, despite the knowledge that there would be an essay due after the trip. The man tugged at his black tie and light blue shirt as he spoke again. "And you all have your stuff it you, correct?" A chorus of 'Yes Mr. Lancer.' and bobbing heads answered.

A few kids opened their bags and double checked that they had their trivial things such as lipstick or footballs, but three individuals were more practical than that. In the very back of the classroom, away from prying eyes, sat three seventeen year old seniors. Two boys and a girl sat digging through weapons that ranged from an upgraded anti-creep stick to miniature ecto-granade launchers. The dark haired, five foot eleven, muscular boy in the middle of the trio, half ghost Danny Fenton (or Phantom depending on the situation), packed some special channelers created to look like ecto-guns, but are just powered by his hands so he can use his ecto-blast without anyone knowing.

The barrette wearing, less muscular, dark skinned, five foot eight human male to Danny's left, Tucker Foley, was counting how many specter deflectors and lipstick lasers he had been able to fit into his backpack and cargo pants, which were upgraded with new hidden pockets.

The dark haired five foot eight human goth girl to his right was shuffling through a few ecto-guns and a first aid kit herself, but she actually did have their regular items such as a few extra changes of clothes for all of them, a hairbrush, hair ties, food, water, a PDA, and an extra pair of glasses for tucker. Although the extra glasses, unlike the ones he was wearing, didn't have access to his PDA, as they only upgraded one. Danny had a retractable double sided katakana tucked away in his cargo pants. Sam, who was wearing one of Danny's black and purple Dumpy Humpty t-shirts tied into a hair tie at the side to reveal her purple undershirt, had hidden a small ecto-ray of her own in the baggy shirt, since her black stretchy skinny jeans wouldn't hide it too well. Their ice blue, azure, and violet eyes scanned the class carefully. Sam and Danny's identical black combat books tapped against the beige tile floor impatiently, awaiting the next ghost that they, well, most likely Danny, would have to fight.

"Well?" Mr. Lancer suddenly spoke, brushing off his grey dress pants. "What are we waiting for? Let's go people!" The entire class, save three people, cheered.

"I don't like this." Danny hissed to his two friends. "I don't like this one bit."

"Danny," Sam said as she solely laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know you don't like leaving Amity Park, but it's only for a short period of time. Well be back before you know it." Danny sighed, tugging at the end of his thin, baggy, black long sleeve t-shirt, the sleeves hiding a snake tattoo that ran from his collarbone, where the tail was, to his knuckles, where the head was, the body of the snake coiled around Danny's arm. It wasn't Danny's choice to get the tattoo, mind you. It was a new power. He could, using ecto-energy, make the snake come to like and use it during a fight. He learned that when Skulker got a bit to close for his liking.

"Thanks Sam. I still have a bad feeling though." He said, slinging his bag, which was the (purposely on Danny's part) heaviest of the three. The three followed the rest of the class out front and into the school bus, staying in the back where they would go virtually unnoticed.

"Hey man, it comes with the territory." Tucker said as the bus started.

"I suppose." Danny grumbled as he leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the rattling window. Closing his eyes, his fingers rhythmically drummed against his thigh, telling Sam and Tucker not to disturb him if they could help it, as he wasn't asleep, just scanning the town for any threats. If Danny were to open his eyes they would be a brilliant white with hints of blue, as it was a part of his ice powers. A more advanced ghost sense, if you will. He pulled his sense back when he didn't feel anything too bad and sighed, ceasing the drumming of his fingers. Danny shot awake when the bus came to a sudden stop, and his peers started filing out.

"Geez." Danny said as he stood. "Where did time go?"

"Into your daydreams apparently." Sam said as they all picked up their bags. The three filed out of the bus, thanking the driver, and walked into the airport. The students talked amongst their groups as they awaited their plane. They all watched in fascination as an Embraer 145 pulled up to the boarding dock. It was a small plane, only holding 25-45 people, but it was big enough for the class. The class boarded, most awed by the plane, as they'd never been in one before. The trio however, who were predictably heading towards the back of the plane, we're twitchy and tense. Danny stuck to the window, where he could feel like he was flying, Sam sitting next to him with Tucker next to the isle. Danny calmed down as soon as the plane left the ground, and calmed down even more when they reached their peak elevation. Though not as calming to Danny as flying outside the giant metal machine, it was calming to be in the air. Darkness swarmed at the edge of his vision as his body tried to shut down for a few hours. While he no longer need as much sleep as he did, as his tolerance grew with the strength of his ghost half, he still needed some sleep, might as well get it now. He let the blanket of darkness engulf him as the roar of the engine lulled him to sleep.

Danny's eyes shot open and he was alert the second the alarms blared, screams were heard, and the plane started loosing altitude. He unbuckled his seat belt and quickly made his way to the front of the plane, where a frantic stewardess and locked door stood between him and the pilot in the cockpit. He quickly but gently moved the frantic crying woman and kicked the door down with his ghostly strength, as the door was reinforced. Bursting inside, Danny quickly analyzed the situation. There was no co-pilot, as this plane was to small. The pilot, who was out cold, seemed to have a head injury from something that was in the plane, but there was nothing loose inside. The flight panel, which also seemed to have some damage, was sparking in quick succession. Danny pulled the pilot out of his seat and buckled him into the seat closest to them, also telling the stewardess to sit down and buckle up. The woman tried to protest but Danny had already gone back into the cockpit and sat down in the pilots seat, examining the controls. Using his knowledge of the airplane simulations he played when he downloaded the space shuttle one and it referenced him to planes, he quickly righted the plane. Unfortunately, the right engine decided that this was the time to blow out, and a jolt from the plane knocked Danny unconscious. He didn't even realize that his right shirt sleeve caught fire from the sparking flight controls.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR THE COVER IMAGE!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

I opened my eyes and gasped for air, though I don't need much thanks to my ghost half. My burnt and bloody right hand and my relatively undamaged left hand flew to my stomach where a piece of metal was protruding. I looked around at the caved in cockpit and unbuckled my seat belt. Shakily standing, I tumbled out into the rest of the plane which was surprisingly well off. 

I quickly started grabbing people in my left hand and bags with important items in my right as they would be lighter than people, and dragging them out. I had just grabbed the stewardess by the collar when I heard a loud crack. Ignoring the pain that was in my stomach but, surprisingly, not my arm, I grabbed the pilot as well, as they were the last two, and turned all three of us intangible. I started dragging as fast as I could with my arm as burned as it was and got all of us out just as the engine exploded. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and lied the two down next to the rest of the people I got out of the plane. 

I collapsed in the sand and finally examined my own injuries. The metal in my abdomen hurt like hell, but it should have been nothing compared to my arm, which i couldn't feel. The metal looked to be about the size of my hand and was almost completely lodged inside of my stomach with only about a half an inch protruding. I looked down at my arm, however, and almost hurled. What was left of the skin and muscle was burnt and charred, bubbling where it had the ability. The white bone stood out from the black and bubbled flesh. The scent of burnt flesh finally registered in my mind and it took all the self control I had not to gag. 

I realized now that my body must have subconsciously shut off the feeling in my arm, a trick I learned after my years of injuries. Unfortunately, that also stops the healing. I looked away and stood, walking over to check the others. It was only when a red liquid ran over my left eye that I remembered how I fell unconscious in the first place. I reached up and was hardly surprised when the entire left side of my face, give or take a few spots, was covered in blood. I had just pulled my hand away from my face when I heard a few groans from behind me. I slowly turned, not wanting to agitate my wounds further, as Sam, Mr. Lancer, and Paulina woke up.

"Guys, I need-" Suddenly, Paulina screamed, startling everyone who was already awake, and waking up anyone who wasn't already. "Yeah, that works." I said as I winced, not able to cover my ears. "I dragged you guys out but I haven't checked you for injuries. Is anyone hurt?" I asked, attempting to keep my arm out of sight.

"To Kill a Mockingbird Mr. Fenton! How did you drag us and our luggage out in time with your arm so badly injured?!" I saw Sam run over to me with the first aid kit from her bag.

"There's not a lot I can do for your arm. Your stomach will need stitches though." I cringed.

"Oh I hate that feeling." I said as Sam helped me get my shirt over my injured arm. Ignoring the gasps, I carefully laid down on the hot sand, the grains sticking to my bloody body as I tried to keep my arm from touching the ground. "Anyone with a weak stomach, look away now." I said as Sam prepped the needle.

"I have nothing to heat it with, so alcohol will have to do for the sanitizing." She said as she started cleaning off the wound and, with her other hand, my bloodied stomach. "Unfortunately no heat means no cartarizing the holes." Once again ignoring gasps, though now for my scars, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"That's fine, just get it over with." I sighed. I clenched my jaw as she pulled the metal out of my abdomen, blood flowing over my skin and dripping into the sand. She quickly got to work sewing the wound closed, trying to finish as fast as possible, noticing my flinches. It felt like hours before she tied the last knot, and even with that, the burn of alcohol was no better. "If that hurts I don't want to know what my arm felt like." I mumbled. Her eyes widened.

"You didn't! Danny that will only make it worse!" She hissed.

"It wasn't me! Well it was, but I didn't mean to! I did it when I was unconscious!" I defended. I sighed. "Just, if I start screaming, stop me." Her eyebrows drew together as worry began to pool in her violet eyes. "I'll be alright Sam, I promise." I let the feeling return to my arm, and immediately fell to my knees. It felt like I stuck my entire arm in molten lava and left it there. I could sense rather than feel myself screaming. And I could sense rather than feel Sam trying to cover my mouth.

I could feel when my ice powers spread to what they thought was fire, cooling my arm immensely. I could feel the tissue healing and mending. I felt tears run tracks through the dirt, sweat, and blood covering my face, dropping onto the sand as a sickly red color. Darkness shrouded my vision, and I pushed it away. Fainting won't do me or anyone else any good. I clamped my eyes and teeth shut, forcing myself to stand, my breathing labored and faster than usual.

"We need shelter." I hissed through my clenched teeth. "And any food we brought needs to be put into piles and sorted. We don't know how long we will be here. We also need water. Nobody goes alone, nobody eats or drinks anything until I check it. Got it?" Everyone out of their shock enough to nod did. "Good. Go start putting food on one pile, and important items in another. That does not include makeup or anything like that. We're here to survive, not look like we're going to prom." Everyone scattered and grabbed a pile of stuff I'd brought from the plane.

On my order, makeup and other useless items were thrown into one pile, working electronics, extra clothes and blankets in another, and in the last, food, water, and an unfortunately small amount of medical supplies. While the rest of the class was doing that, Sam, Tucker and I, much to Sam and Tucks dismay, started building a large hut make from branches and palm fronds, tied together with vines and some stronger palm fronds if we thought they could handle it. I even managed to make a working door, using vines as hinges and branches as a door bar lock. It was only when I saw how small our fool pile was, and how much smaller it was when you subtracted candy and chips, that I snuck off into the trees in search of food. Quickly weaving two baskets out of vines, I started piling coconuts and bananas into them. Careful not to jostle my arm too much, I carried the large baskets- bags?- back to the beach.

Looking up at the sky for the first time since we arrived, I noticed that a few hours have already passed as the sun was in the middle of setting. Walking into the hut that Sam, Tuck, and I made, I grabbed all of the smoothest vines and softest leaves, and started to make mats and pillows out of them. The pillows were easy to make, and only took a few minutes for each. Fifteen, tops. The mats, however, took a bit more time.

"Hey! Sam, Tuck! Can you run and grab me more vines please?" I asked as I finished off the seventh mat. I started the eighth mat as I heard a pair of telltale combat boots walk into the trees. By the time Sam had come back, I was down to my last vine, and only halfway done with the eighth mat. She dropped them down next to me with a huff. I grabbed the vines and continued weaving. "You okay Sam?" I asked after a few minutes. I piled the now finished eighth mat on the others and started on the ninth.

"I'm fine, just..." She trailed off as she subconsciously started to twist a vine around her hand.

"Worried?" She sighed and nodded.

"I mean you, Tucker, and I, we can take care of ourselves." She said as she watched me end the ninth, and begin on the last. "I know that. But our class, they've never had to really fight for survival. Nobody except Valarie of course. But she is really not much better. She's never been into a more intense fight. Not like you." I paused and turned to her.

"Sam, we can do this. We've gotten stronger and smarter for the three years that we've been doing this. And I gained a ton of power the day of my coronation on my third Deathday. If there was ever a good time for this kind of thing, it's now." She smiled.

"I know." She said as I resumed weaving the last mat. Crawling over to sit behind me, she sat Indian style and gently pulled me so I was laying my head in her lap. She gently pulled the hem of my shirt up and over my stitches, checking on the healing. "I'm glad your healing faster." She said as she tugged the shirt back down. I hummed in agreement as I finished the mat.

"Tucker! Tell everyone to come inside!" I called through the walls of the hut.

"Roger that!" He called back. I chuckled and let out a content sigh as Sam started running her fingers through my still blood matted hair.

"How is it we all come out with nothing more than slightly bad cuts, and you come out with practically no arm, needing stitches, and a head injury that would send anyone to the hospital?" She asked, a frown on her face as flakes of dried blood fell onto the sand.

"I was in the cockpit when we crashed. That's really the only thing that got majorly affected since we took more of a nose dive." I said as I heard feet shuffle up to the makeshift door. I pointed over to the mats as i heard the door open. "Grab one. I figured they would be a bit more comfortable than the sand." I said as I pulled away from Sam, standing up. "Dash, Kwan? Can you guys help me pull some of the more important and useful items into the hut?" They both nodded, eyeing my arm. I sighed and walked out, heading over to the piles.

Together, the three of us grabbed any electronics, clothes, blankets, food, water, and medical supplies we had found and put it at one side of the hut.

"Okay, everyone grab some stuff to keep warm. Some of us might have to share the blankets." I said, looking from the jocks, to the popular girls, to the geeks. "You may also have some food, but not too much. We only have a certain amount. Same with the water. Drink it sparingly." Everyone grumbled at the limited supplies but walked over and grabbed what they were allowed, regardless of how little it was. When everyone was settled on a mat I took what was left of the food, water, electronics, and what little we have of medical supplies and put them in the far corner so everyone could have more room. I then took what was left of the extra clothes and handed some out to anyone that was still cold.

"Why don't you get some Fenton?" Dash asked as I handed the last piece of extra clothing to Mikey.

"I'm sharing a blanket with Sam and Tucker." I said simply as I sat down beside said people. "Get some rest everyone. We're gonna need the energy tomorrow." I lied down, though with no intent to sleep, and waited until everyone else's breathing evened out before catching some sleep to help myself heal.

It was roughly an hour and a half later that I shot bolt upright upon hearing multiple sets of feet walking towards us, coupling with my ghost sense. Six pairs to be exact. Quickly checking that everyone was asleep, I turned invisible and intangible, slipping soundlessly through the wall of the hut. I had just started to make a round around the hut when I came face to face with three very large, very angry ghost panthers. Quickly pulling my ecto-channelers off my belt, I fired in quick succession. The panthers growled, immediately waking everyone else up. As soon as the door opened, many people screamed. One dark skinned male however, didn't. Armed with a seemingly useless tube of lipstick and a seemingly useless soup thermos, he ran over to me. Slipping one of my channelers back in my belt, I reached over with my hand out. Getting the clue, he lightly tossed the thermos, leaving me to catch it with a certain air of grace and power. Flicking the cap off with my thumb, I aimed the thermos forward, the Panthers growls lost on our ears as they were enveloped and pulled in.

"This is not good." I whispered to Tucker. "This is not the correct habitat for panthers, ghost or no, these guys shouldn't be here. Take everyone else inside, I'm gonna take a once-around of the island. Remember, if something goes wrong or someone runs off somewhere, you, Sam, and I have the Fenton phones." Tucker, nodding once, gathered everyone else into the hut and shut the door, leaving me to look around. I walked the first bit of the island, planning to fly when I was out of the huts sight, when sodden a green light and screams came from inside the hut. Running back as fast as I could get myself, I saw what seemed to me a natural portal opened up in the hut, and nobody was to be found. Grabbing and tossing whatever I could into the portal (so everything with my superhuman strength) I jumped in after them, the portal closing as my feet went through.


	3. Chapter 3

xXx

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR THE COVER IMAGE!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

xXx

! WARNING !

GRAPHIC TORTURE (I think, just being safe)

Also, if you dislike stories where Danny is not close to Maddie or Jack (Mostly Maddie), stop reading now.

xXx

Danny's POV

As soon as I felt my feet pass through the portal, I quickly twisted my body so I landed on my shoulder, proceeding to roll and stop myself in a crouching position.

"What was that thing?! Where are we?!" I heard Paulina scream. I ran over and clamped one cold, calloused hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" I hissed. "Do you want to just hand us over to the ghosts?" Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. I slowly lifted my hand from her mouth. "Then not so loud. That was a ghost portal. It took us all to the ghost zone. Unfortunately this part of the ghost zone is one that I don't visit often."

"Yeah, like we'll believe you've been here before Fentonio. You're scared of your own shadow!" Dash said, laughing. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"As I was saying, it's to far from the Fenton portal. I can get us home though. And a lot quicker here rather than back on that island. Unfortunately that island had food. The ghost zone doesn't. Except for blood blossoms, and I'm not too sure of the nutritional value of those."

"Who put you in charge Fenturd?!" Dash called out, stepping menacingly towards me.

"I did, Dash. I'd rather we all get out alive!" I snapped.

"Why do you care?!" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Alright, listen up! To you, I may be a friend, I may be an enemy, I may be a looser, or I may be a stranger. But to me, I am your bodyguard first and foremost. I don't care if I know you or not, and I don't care what you think of me. What I care about is getting us all out of here alive and as unscathed as possible, alright?" Everyone nodded except Mr. Lancer, the pilot, and the stewardess, whom all looked on in curiosity. I walked over to the three adults and, glancing at each of them, spoke. "You three have been awfully quiet. I almost forgot you were here."

"Mike and I" the stewardess started, pointing to the pilot and herself, "were trying to see if the black box was recoverable. Never got it though, if it was." I glanced at her name tag and nodded. "Good call Rose. Too bad we couldn't have gotten it." I mentally slapped myself for not remembering the black box earlier.

"I just helped. It seemed like you had it under control." Mr. Lancer answered. "Now, with the way you were talking, I guess you have been here before?"

"Yeah. I know where we are too. Tucker has a map on his PDA-" Suddenly, Tucker started yelling, startling everyone.

"THE MAP IS GONE OKAY?! KATIE IS DEAD AND THE MAP IS GONE!" He turned, attempting to cry into Sam's shoulder, earning himself a slap and a 'Pull it together, Tucker!'

"Right. Okay so we don't have a map, but I know my way around. About five miles that way-" I said, pointing to the left, along the path we were on. "Is a friend of mine, Clockwork. About ten miles past him is frostbite. Then we have another twenty before we get to Dora's kingdom. We can figure out more there." Mr. Lancer's eyes were the size of saucers.

"I guess we had better get started then."

xXx

Third Person POV

It had already been twenty minutes, and so far, they had almost nothing to show for it. The classes three mile per hour pace was getting them nowhere fast and Danny almost wanted to just fly them home. Growling in irritation, he blocked out Paulina's unfortunately consistent 'When are we gonna stop? My feet hurt!'

"Fenton!" Paulina called. Danny clenched and relaxed his fists multiple times, deciding that now was not the time to deck the girl in the mouth.

"Yes Paulina?" He hissed through his teeth.

"My feet hurt." She stated, batting her eyelashes. "Can we stop?"

"You shouldn't have worn heels if you didn't want your feet to hurt Paulina. We have to keep going, especially at your pace. At this point we'll take up the entirety of twelve hours to get thirty five miles. That's not including the breaks and stops along the way." Danny paused as a plain white, windowless building came up on the right side of the road. "Wait a second. This wasn't here before." Danny said quietly, his ghost sense going off as he scanned the horizon.

"That's because I just put it here," A deep voice called from off the path. "And what a coincidence, since I made it specifically for you and your two humans." The voice said, the owner making himself visible. The owner was a tall, white, green eyed ghost with a white coat and pants clashing with a black tie, gloves, boots, belt, top-hat, and hanker chief.

"Walker." Danny hissed. He made a stance to attack but Walker just shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said, a smug grin slipping onto his face.

"And why is that?" Danny growled.

"Because, ghost kid. I have the upper hand. I have your parents." Nobody, except Danny of course, noticed when Danny's ghost sense went off again, and ghosts hit Danny and the class from behind, knocking them all to the ground out cold.

Third Person's POV

Sam groaned as she stirred from her rather uncomfortable 'nap'. Sam, still catching up with what she remembered, felt when some others started to stir as well. She quickly did a headcount, now including Mr. And Mrs. Fenton, her eyes widening.

"Danny!" She screamed, startling everyone out of unconsciousness. "I can't find Danny!" Paulina screamed and everyone's heads immediately turned to her. One perfectly manicured hand was shakily covering her mouth while the other was pointing at something outside the bars, her eyes wide and tears flowing down her cheeks. Everyone gasped, some even screaming or squeaking, when they noticed what- or rather who- Paulina was pointing at.

At the other side of the room, beyond the bars and any of the humans reach, Daniel Fenton was shirtless and unconscious, held up by glowing cuffs strapped to his wrists, his bad one bleeding heavily where the restraint pulled at the already damaged flesh and muscle. Danny's previously healed gash on his abdomen from the plane was reopened and there was a large chunk of flesh missing from his side, the white bone of his ribs showing through what little was left. His heavily bleeding nose and mouth was accompanied by a black eye. His neck was bruised as if someone had tried to strangle him, and there was what looked like whip marks covering his torso. He groaned suddenly, everyone jumping, and lifted his head, his half lidded eyes staring up at them.

"I- Is everyone okay?" He rasped out.

"Danny! Oh my goodness, Danny! What happened to you?!" Maddie asked, terror buried into her features.

"It doesn't matter, is everyone okay or not?" He asked again, spitting blood onto the cracked purple floor.

"Yeah, yeah dude." Tucker answered shakily. "We're all good." Danny was about to say something else, his mouth starting to open, when the door to Danny's left, the others right, flew open to reveal Walker, followed by a silver cart covered in knives, saws, whips, tazers, and brands. He parked the cart in the corner farthest from Danny and the others, closest to the door, and started to rifle through the stuff on the table.

"Hiya Walkie!" Danny called to the ghost, grinning. "How've ya been? Find all your prisoners yet?" The ghost, suddenly extremely angry, slammed his fist onto the cart.

"No." The ghost growled, grabbing a brown whip, it's tip clad in spikes. "Because of you they all escaped, because of you we lost most of them, and because of you we may never-" He said, unrolling the whip and cracking it in front of his face. "Get-" He paused to crack the whip against Danny's stomach, right across the other wound. "Them-" He paused again for another crack of his whip. "Back!" A series of cracks filled the air as the whip tore through Danny's torso, blood and torn skin splattering against the walls and floor. Danny let out a strained scream as he felt his torso tear open, the spikes on the whip catching against skin and muscle, forcing it to rip and tear, sometimes hearing the scrape of a bone. Danny blinked, trying to rid the spots from his vision. The ghost finally calmed down, but not before Danny looked like something out of a horror movie, his stomach and chest ripped open so severely that the skin looked like it was a piece of fabric that had caught on something, uneven and jagged. A few people in the cage opposite hurled at the sight, everyone seeking one another's protection and assurance, regardless of their status in school. What surprised them though, was when Danny started laughing. Granted, it was really just a few wheezes followed by a coughing fit, but it was unexpected none the less.

"I take it you're not enjoying your afterlife at the moment then? It must really suck if this is your form of entertainment." He taunted, lifting his head. The people at the other side of the room were more than surprised. Dash especially. He was wondering what type of drug Danny was on to be taunting the ghost that was literally tearing him to shreds. Why had he never stood up to him, but he can stand up to this ghost no problem?

Narrowing his eyes, the ghost walked back over to his table, taking care to roll up the whip. Grabbing a brand and something small that the humans nor half ghost could see, he turned back to the halfa.

"That smart talk of yours needs to stop." He said, pressing the brand to Danny's lower back, towards the right. Danny hissed and groaned, clamping his teeth on the scream of pain. He wasn't going to show walker that he was getting to him. Finally dropping the brand, he pulled out the smaller item. A needle and thread. "Its time to shut you up, your highness." He hissed, so much venom in the title you'd think it was an insult. Through the concerned and horror - stricken looks, there was now confusion blending onto their faces. "You haven't told them? Do you not trust your family?" Walker sneered, grinning.

"I trust my family more than anything!" Danny snapped back.

"Ahh, but not your biological one. Whose your makeshift family? Ahh, yes. Sam, your girlfriend, Tucker, your best friend, Jazz and Princess Dorothea, your sisters, Danielle, your daughter, Clockwork, your father, Pandora, your mother, and sweet, sweet Grandma Ida." He listed, smirking. Danny pulled hard against his chains. "Its too bad you'll never get to see them again."

Danny's eyes widened as Walker walked up and started to sloppily and uncaringly push and pull the needle through Danny's upper and lower lips. The rest of them watched in horror, not wanting to watch the gruesome scene but not able to tear their eyes away.

Walker yanked the needle, breaking the thread and making Danny wince, before picking up the brand and turning back to the table. Danny, not wanting to waste any time, quickly surveyed the old fashioned ghost proof cuffs. Quickly and quietly, standing on shaking legs, he looked up at where they were attached. A foot or two above Danny's head, there were two hooks holding up the cuffs, which were attached to each other at the chain. Danny flicked the chain, launching it off the hooks with a clink. He quickly dashed over to Walker, wrapping the chain around his neck.

"You listen Walker, and you listen good." Danny hissed through one corner of his mouth, trying not to jostle the stitching. "You're gonna let me, my classmates, my friends, my teacher, the pilot and stewardess, and my parents go. Do you hear me?" Walker nodded quickly. "We are going to leave, and you are going to let anyone close to me out of the hellhole you call custody." Walker faltered.

"Now hold on," he choked. "You have an advantage now kid, but not enough for that."

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to tell everyone that you exploited my death, breaking your own rule, now aren't I?" Danny hissed in his ear.

"What?! I never exploited your death!" Danny paused a second, thinking.

"How do you think I died?" I asked, Narrowing my eyes.

"You ran in after the baby! The house collapsed on top of you!" He insisted.

"That happened when I was twelve, Walker. Two years before I died. I died when I was electrocuted by the portal, Walker." I hissed in his ear. "I wonder how many years you rallied yourself for, hm? Twenty- thirty thousand?" I growled thickly.

"Okay! Alright you win!" He said quickly.

"They better be out in the next twenty four hours or I will find you and I will personally see to and perform your execution." Walker nodded and, led by Danny and the cuffs, unlocked the cell with everyone else in it. Walker then walked across the room to a secret panel to gather the stuff that was with them. The last thing Walker did was unlock the cuffs around Danny, leaving immediately afterwords, flying out of there like a bat out of hell.

Sam and Tucker were at Danny's sides immediately, Tucker offering support while Sam undid the stitches binding his lips and tried to see how to best treat his new wounds.

Many of the others had to turn away from the gruesome scene that was Daniel Fenton. Most thought he was bad before, but now, with blood dripping from his face and pouring from his torso, nobody could stand it. Easily three fourths of the group hurled, half of them fainting. Danny's lips, the holes left by the thick needle easily noticeable, bled onto his torn torso, where there was more muscle and bone covering the expanse than actual skin.

"I can't even sew them together! There's not enough stable skin!" Sam hissed in frustration as Tucker sat Danny down. Danny immediately collapsed onto the floor, in to much pain to even think about lying about it.

"Jus' ban'age it." He managed to groan. "Gotta go." Sam shook her head in shock as Mr. Lancer walked up to the trio.

"Danny! You need rest!" Sam scolded. "This isn't a simple bandage job!"

"M- Ms. Manson is- is correct Mr. Fenton." Mr. Lancer stuttered. "Dear God Daniel." He muttered. Danny grinned.

"No book title Mr. Lancer?" He chuckled, immediately regretting the action when pain flared in his chest.

"Its a book title of some sort I'm sure." Mr. Lancer replied, a sad smile crossing his face.

"Why so blue, sir?" Danny slurred, seemingly impervious to the obviousness of the question.

"Daniel, you- you were just tortured by a ghost and your out here cracking jokes! Why...?" Mr. Lancer trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his questions.

"Told you Mr. Lancer, 'm your bodyguard 'fore anythin' else. I don' care what happens to me, 'cause I know I can handle it." Danny said, yawning at the end.

"This doesn't seem like handling it, Mr. Fenton." Mr. Lancer grumbled.

"'M still 'live aren't I?" Danny said, grinning. "I don' think we'd be able to say that 'bout anyone else if they were in my situation." Danny, hearing a sigh from Sam, turned his head. "Wha's wrong?"

"I don't know if I can do anything except bandage it. With as little medical supplies as we have, we're not exactly in medical central." She growled, grabbing alcohol, gauze, and three of the largest sterile rolls she could find. "Sorry Danny. This is gonna hurt."

"Mm." Danny answered. "Tha's an understatement." Sam quickly cleaned all of Danny's wounds, wincing at the screams and whimpers he tried, and failed, to stop. Tucker and Mr. Lancer ended up trying to hold him down, unsuccessfully mind you, as he tried to get away from the fire licking at his wounds.

Finally, Sam stopped, now grabbing the gauze and sterile rolls. Piling the gauze evenly across Danny's bleeding wounds, she quickly wrapped his chest and stomach, securing it in place. When she finished, she left left shallow panting Danny, who didn't look too far from being a mummy if she was honest.

"Th- thanks Sam." Danny panted.

"Y-yeah Danny, anytime." Sam said, tears running down her cheeks.

"But hopefully never again." Danny chuckled, giving Sam a tired smile, trying to lighten the mood. It must have worked, because Sam gave a small chuckle too.

"Yeah, hopefully." Lancer stepped over to help Sam and Tucker haul Danny to his feet.

"Mr. Fenton, may I ask you a personal question?" Mr. Lancer asked nervously. Danny just nodded, Tucker and Sam tensing beside him. "Why were your parents not included in your makeshift 'family'? And who are Princess Dorothea, Clockwork, Pandora, and Danielle?" Danny smiled thinking of his family, but frowned when Jack and Maddie intruded into his mind.

"Jack and Madeline Fenton haven't been my parents for a few years Mr. Lancer." Danny stated, his voice nonchalant. "I made my own family, in which I included Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, as well as my father, Clockwork, the ghost master of time, my sister, ghost Princess Dorothea, my mother, ghost legend Pandora, and my daughter, the clone Danielle Phantom, or Fenton in human form. You see, Jack and Maddie were always workers, and while they loved us, Jazz and I, Jazz was really the one to raise me, as they were always working on an invention or at one convention or another. I was close to my mother once, but, never close enough. They were really nothing more than sperm and egg donors really." Mr. Lancer nodded, his eyes wide.

"I have so many questions." Danny laughed at this. "So Clockwork, your father, is the ghost of time?" He asked, amazed.

"Yeah. The sandman himself. Its pretty cool really. He's probably watching us right now, actually." Danny said thoughtfully. "Whether it's past him, present him, future him, or all three is really the question."

"Can you blame me? I like to know what trouble your getting into, and it seems like you got plenty from Walker." Danny's head turned to the voice so fast, Lancer is surprised he didn't get whiplash by just watching it happen.

There, just a few feet from Danny, was a young adult, male, maybe around twenty-five, with blue skin and red eyes. A lightning bolt shaped scar ran down his left eye, the top of it disappearing into a tattered purple cloak that was held up by a black gear at his left shoulder. He held held a staff in his right hand that held a small clock in the middle of the top. His gray gloves had three watches on each wrist, and, sticking to the time theme, there was a pocket watch attached to a belt around what would have been the beginning of legs, had he not had a spectral tail instead. The light purple shirt that the belt was around cut out in the middle to show a clock where Clockwork's chest and stomach should have been.

"Clockwork!" Danny exclaimed, tugging himself out of Sam and Tucker grip and over to his ghostly father. Lancer practically jumped out of his skin when the ghosts appearance changed from a young adult to an elderly male.

"Little Women!" Mr. Lancer gasped. Clockwork turned, his free arm now supporting Danny.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Lancer, Daniels English teacher. Its nice to finally meet you properly." Clockwork said, switching into his child form mid-sentence.

"I-Its nice to meet you too. You must be Clockwork, Mr. Fenton's chosen father." Clockwork nodded.

"Hm. Quite a handful, young Daniel. Always in some sort of trouble." ("Hey!") "But I love him anyways. Daniel if you even think about jumping in front of your mother's ecto-blast I will lock you in my lair." Clockwork said, shooting a warning glare at Danny as he changed back into a young adult.

"Ghost!" The whirring of an ecto gun and Maddie's shout startled everyone, and Danny had to restrain himself from launching his body in front of Clockwork's to act as an shield. With a simple flick of his staff the ecto-blast paused in mid air, frozen. "Stay away from my son you ectoplasmic scum!" Clockwork raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Is this how she is all the time?" Clockwork asked Danny, not looking for an answer, but just to see how she would react in this version of the time stream.

"Your the master of time, dad. You tell me." Danny said, amusement clear in his voice as he watched his father turn into an elder.

"Daniel James Fenton! That thing is not your father! Your parents are over here!" Maddie growled.

"Has she always been so egotistical?" Danny asked Clockwork. He just shrugged, laughing at his sons antics. "Should I rub it in her face?" Clockwork grinned.

"That is up to you." Danny grinned back at Clockwork, now a baby, then scowled at his biological mother.

"Yeah he is! He took me in when I had nobody else to turn to! How does it feel Maddie?! To lose your only son to ghosts?" Danny sneered.

"Easy Daniel. Don't hurt your chest." Clockwork warned. Danny sighed.

"You're getting serious again. Does that mean you have to go save some random version of time?" Danny asked, watching him turn to a young adult.

"Daniel, you of all people know how important it is for me to be watching the time stream." Clockwork sighed. Danny smiled.

"I know. Thanks Clockwork. You should get back or the observants will have your head." Clockwork laughed.

"I never liked those eyes." Danny smiled and briefly hugged clockwork, before he disappeared in a flash of light from what looked like a clock hand. Sam and Tucker started forward, ready to hold Danny steady, when they noticed a black and white time staff in his hand. Danny examined it, reading something in Esperanto at the top, laughed, and leaned on it.

"Thanks Clockwork. Ill take you up on that offer." Making his way up to the front of the group, he continued to lead them on their journey to Clockworks tower, the words etched into the staff echoing in Danny's mind.

'For my son and future apprentice ~Clockwork'


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack, sorry guys. I kind of forgot I posted this on here...

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR THE COVER IMAGE!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

xXx

Danny's POV

"Okay guys, we can take a ten minute break, but we need to keep moving to find a more permanent place to sleep." I said, setting the items I was carrying down onto the path.

"I think we should have a half hour break!" Dash called out, smirking when a few others agreed.

"Dash, we need to get somewhere safer and more permanent than a road in the middle of nowhere." I argued.

"Well you're not the boss of us Fen-turd! I let you lead this far, now it's my turn! I am star quarterback!" Dash beamed.

"Yeah! Why are we following this looser?!" Paulina agreed.

"Because this loser is your ticket home." I hissed under my breath.

"Danny, sweetie. Maybe your father and I should lead." Maddie said as she and Jack walked up to me. "We know more about ghosts, so the ghost zone shouldn't be to much of a stretch. You don't know a single thing about ghosts let alone how to navigate through the ghost zone! And we all know your memory isn't the best, well with your grades the way they are." My mind reeled, pausing and replaying that last sentence. She believes I'm an idiot. She thinks that I'm just a clueless disappointment!

"Mi scias ok malsamaj lingvoj inkluzive de la angla, Esperanto, latina, signo lingvo, hispana, Malnova angla, Antikva Roma kaj Malnovgreka, kaj tamen vi havas la audacia nomi min idioto?! Fajna! Gvidi! Nur ne atendu ke mi purigi vian salaton!" *I know eight different languages including English, Esperanto, Latin, sign language, Spanish, Old English, Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek, and yet you have the audacity to call me an idiot?! Fine! Lead! Just don't expect me to clean up your mess!* I yelled, accidentally slipping into Esperanto. I silently thanked anyone that was listening that I'd slipped into Esperanto. Two languages is enough of a stretch. Then Mikey and Nathan gasped and my brain halted.

"Whoa! Are you serious?!" Mikey asked, his eyes the size of saucers. My eyes widened. I completely forgot that geeks use some Esperanto! "I only caught a bit of that but from what I heard, you can speak eight languages?!" My parents looked at me with shock and disbelief, and if that didn't hurt...

"Erm... yeah. English, Old English, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Latin, Esperanto, Spanish, and sign language." I said, shifting uncomfortably, grasping my staff tighter.

"How did you learn so much Esperanto? Its an artificial language from the eighteen-hundreds, nobody really knows the entire language, even us." Lester pointed out, looking up at me in, for lack of a better and less egotistic word, awe.

"It just comes naturally. Look, just, forget it. I didn't really mean to say it at all let alone in Esperanto. Its not that big of a deal."

"Quomodo tot linguas discere?" *How did you learn so many languages?* Mr. Lancer asked. My eyebrows raised. Since when can he speak Latin?

"Clockwork mihi. Et omnes linguis loquantur, ut manes." *Clockwork taught me. They're all major languages that ghosts speak.* Mr. Lancer nodded curtly, before turning to everyone else.

"Danny has been doing fine. He is keeping us alive in any way he knows how, and that included risking his own life." Mr. Lancer said, glancing at my torso. "I suggest you be a little more grateful. All of you. Now, as for the fact of stopping or moving, I have to agree with Daniel. This is foreign territory. Staying out in the open will mean any predator can spot us." He now turned completely to me. "Daniel, do you know where we can find an enclosed space such as a cave, or a friendly ghosts home?" I nodded as Maddie sneered, obviously disagreeing with the fact that there can be friendly ghosts.

"Clockworks Tower is still about three and a half miles away, and there are a set of caves between his and Frostbites territory, about six miles away from clockwork, and four from Frostbite. That is if the path hasn't been broken to bad since the last time I saw it." I mused. Maddie chuckled.

"What do you mean last time you saw it? You've never been here before! Being the son of two ghost hunters, the ghosts would have immediately recognized you and eliminated you because they would think you to be a threat. Besides, Even if the path was destroyed, the ghost zone is almost the same as space. We could just fly." Closing my eyes, I took a series of deep breaths to release some anger and stress.

"First of all, I have been here. How do you think I know these ghosts? Secondly, the ghost zone takes you wherever your momentum is. If you were to step off the side of the path, you wouldn't fall per se, just float down. There's no gravity in the ghost zone, therefore, no falling. Your momentum is key. If your momentum is down, well, that's where it'll take you. Unfortunately, there's nothing to stop or slow your momentum, so if you go down, you're going down infinitely. We're not ghosts, we cant fly. Therefore we cant control where our momentum is directed in mid air." I looked to find a few people gaping, a few ignoring me completely, and, in Maddie's case, looking like a fish out of water. I have a small feeling that I just disproved a few of her theories.

"That's the biggest load of crap I've heard coming out of your mouth in a while Fen-toad! Come on guys. I'll get us out of here." Dash said, attempting to shove me out of the way. I quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back with a surprising amount of strength, especially with my other hand holding my staff, catching the jock off guard.

"You're ego is going to get you all killed Dashiel Baxter." I growled. "I will not allow that to happen. So either come willingly, or I'll drag you along behind me." Dash grinned, despite his uncomfortable position.

"You couldn't drag me anywhere Fen-tonia!" He laughed. I growled and threw him over my shoulders, not loosing my balance despite the fact that the time staff that clockwork gave me was the only thing really holding me up.

"Anyone else have any objections?" I hissed at the rest of the A-List members. They all absentmindedly shook their heads, still staring at Dash. I grunted in approval, and, despite not really having our break, adjusted Dash and kept walking.

Mr. Lancers POV

Honestly, I couldn't help but ponder the enigma that is Daniel Fenton. There is definitely a noticeable difference in his personality when he's in the ghost zone. Despite his demanding front, it seems that he is more at ease here with the ghosts than he is at Amity with the humans. At Casper High, when he decided to show up of course, his posture was, for lack of a better word, horrid. His shoulders were slumped, back curled in, head hung as low as he could get it, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. It was almost as if he was trying to appear as passive as possible. Here, though, His back was straight, shoulders back, head high, and arms by his side. When he wasn't holding up Dash of course, but that's a whole other can of worms. Here its like he has power, and he wants everyone to know it.

Then there are the scars and the way he could pick up Dash with his wounds as severe as they were...

"First Grave on the Left Mr. Fenton! Put Mr. Baxter down! You shouldn't be carrying him with how hurt you are!" Daniel looked down at his bandaged stomach, his brows pulled together as if he was recalling a memory from when he was little. He sat a dumbfounded Dashiel down and continued walking. I ran up to his side, having to jog to keep the dark haired teens pace, regardless of the fact that he was practically using a cane to hold himself up. He slowed down, presumably for me, and smiled.

"I know you have more questions, Mr. Lancer. One question about my ghostly father doesn't tell you much." He chuckled, checking his surroundings so quickly, if I hadn't been observing him so closely, I would have missed it.

"Well," I started. "you said you had a daughter. Danielle, was it?"

"She prefers Dani, one N and an I. But yeah. Technically she's my clone though." I almost tripped over my own feet.

"Clone?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Yeah. Some fruitloop ghost wanted me to join him, and when I refused he tried to clone me. All of the other attempts melted, but Dani survived. I took her in as my daughter and left her with Frostbite in the Far Frozen." I blinked, trying to process all of the information I'd been given. Reaching my hands up to my head, I rubbed my temples, attempting to fend off a rising headache.

"Right, well. What about Princess Dorothea?" He smiled.

"Princess Dora is a princess who's kingdom was forced to stay in medieval time by her brother, Prince Arogon. Sam and I helped her defeat her brother and she finally allowed her kingdom to move forward, evolving as we have." He chuckled. "And I suppose you'd like it hear about my mother, Pandora, as well?" I absentmindedly nodded, still absorbing information. "I met her when I got her box back from the box ghost. She was not very happy that it was stolen, and was very grateful when I put everything back in her box and returned it to her." He smiled at the memory.

"What about your father? Clockwork? How did you meet him?" The smile vanished, his jaw clenching. I felt bad for asking, and was about to take take it back, when he answered.

"Do you remember, freshman year, when I returned the answers to the CAT open?" He asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"Of course I do. I was surprised at your honesty. Most students would have hid the fact that they had had them in the first place." I replied honestly, the memory surfacing, playing just behind my eyes.

"Well, let's just say, I'm in a different timeline, I did cheat. You asked to see my parents at the Nasty Burger to talk to them. My sister and Sam and Tucker came along, moral support, ya know? But the sauce, it-" He shook his head, as if trying to shake off a nightmare. "Nasty sauce is highly combustible when overheated. While we were all in the building, it heated up just just a bit to high, and it blew up." He paused, hanging his head. "You all were killed, I badly burned, and I went insane. I blocked off my emotions and went on a rampage. I committed genocide, the worst seen for thousands of years. Amity was in ruins, the rest of the country, or maybe the world, I don't know, was completely leveled. I had no mercy, no soul." He sighed, his breath shaking. "When I came back to our own timeline, I returned the answers, took the make up test, and never did anything to anyone again, in fear of becoming him. Dan I call him. That's why I almost punched Dash when he called me that in sophomore year." I blinked, my legs numbly carrying me as my brain reeled. This was all just so bazaar! Who would have thought that the kid who always fell asleep in class if if he bothered to come to class at all, would be the most responsible?

"And I assume that you've been keeping this from your biological parents?" I asked, remembering his spat with them, specifically his mother, earlier.

"Of course I have. I have my group. Trusting anyone outside of it can have deadly consequences." I looked over at him, slightly confused.

"I'm not in your group, though you're trusting me?" He hummed in thought.

"I'm always liked you as a teacher. Maybe one day you'll know everything. Perhaps on this trip if it gets any more dangerous." He muttered. We walked for the next hour and a half in any relatively comfortable silence, I running over the information I'd received, and Danny leading us along a rugged path, almost looking like it could fall apart at any second. The only sounds for the duration of our travel was the sound of footsteps on broken compact dirt, and the eerie absence of sounds from Daniel and the staff he continued to walk with. Gasps rang through the atmosphere as the students started noticing gears floating through the Ghost zone, and in the middle of it all, a large purple tower.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," Daniel announced. "to Clockworks Tower."


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR THE COVER IMAGE!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS!

xXx

Previously

Gasps rang through the atmosphere as the students started noticing gears floating through the Ghost zone, and in the middle of it all, a large purple tower.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," Daniel announced. "to Clockworks Tower."

 

Sam's POV

I watched as everyone looked around, probably wondering how they could get to Clockworks Tower without without a direct path, and honestly, I couldn't blame them. I've never really been in here without the Specter Speeder. Of course as soon as I saw Danny, his mouth in a hard line, jaw clenched, I knew he had a plan.

As I turned my head I could just see him jump in my peripheral vision. He reached up with large calloused hands and grabbed one of the larger gears floating in the air. I quickly ran over, helping him- though he probably didn't need it- get the gear down so the others could get on it. As soon as I, too, was on, he pushed the gear and leapt off the edge of the trail, only holding on by his fingertips. Groaning, probably from stretching his wounds, he quickly made his way over to the other side of the gear, his boots sliding on the other side until we stopped just before the large doors to the tower.

Everyone quickly dropped off of the gear, not trusting the unstable platform. Danny walked up to the door, not even having to touch it before it opened for him, the protesting squeal of the hinges the only indication that it was real at all, and not just a mirage. Danny walked into the dark tower, not a hint of hesitation in his bulky frame as the other students entered behind him, each shaking slightly. I entered behind Madeline, Jack, Mike, and Rose, ensuring that everyone entered the now lit tower, the entrances torches seemingly catching fire on their own.

"Hello once again ladies and gentlemen. You might remember me from earlier, but in case you did not catch my name, I am Clockwork. Welcome to my tower." A baby Clockwork announced, appearing in the middle of the room. A few people let out a few surprised gasps and squeaks, a look of unease on most of their faces. "I have a few rooms for all of you. Four of you should fit into each room. Daniel, your, Samantha's, and Tucker's room is ready as well."

"You didn't move it on me again, did you?" Danny asked, giving Clockwork a slightly cocky grin. Clockwork grinned back, a strange sight on the usually serious ghost. I suppose, though, that given Danny's reaction, or lack thereof in this case, it's just how Clockwork is around him.

"I will if you don't behave." Danny gave a small pout as Clockwork ruffled his already messy hair. "Alright, Daniel can show you to your rooms. There will be food, water, and any other necessities in labeled chests in your room. Please, make yourself at home."

"Thank you so much Clockwork. I really appreciate it." Danny said as our classmates formed into their individual groups.

"Its the least I can do." Clockwork said, smiling. Danny smiled back before showing everyone to their rooms. Danny, Tucker, and I obviously grouped together, getting Danny's room for the night. Dash, Qwan, Paulina, and Star shared the guest bedroom to the right of ours, Mikey, Nathan and Valarie on the left, and Mr. Lancer, Mike, and Rose to the left of that.

I opened the door to Danny's room, immediately scanning the interior design. The first thing that caught my eye was the ceiling, which was made to match the night sky in the human realm, complete with a moving moon. The walls, which were a nice dark grey, were covered in pieces of maps of both the ghost zone and the human realm-usually in pairs-, every paper having notes in what looked like several different languages. There were also many large books open on the white desk in the far corner of the room, sticky notes and loose papers sticking out of them. The floor, which was originally black by the looks of it, had a giant completed map of the ghost zone accompanied by what looks like notes written in sharpie.

"Where's the bed?" I asked as Danny shut the door behind him. He smiled and pressed a button where a light switch would usually go. I spun as the sound of pulled sounded from somewhere above us, a large piece of the ceiling dropping down to reveal a bed, and an identical piece of ceiling.

"The ceiling depends on the night sky at home, always slightly changing. If there is a shooting star there, it is reflected onto here. Pretty cool, huh?" Danny explained, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the sky. For a minute, he almost looked like the Danny before the accident, so full of life, hope. I felt a smile grace my lips.

"Awesome." I agreed. His smile immediately brightened. "Hey, Danny? What's this one?" I asked, pointing at a distinctively bright star.

"That's Arcturus. It sits together with Spica and Denebola," he said, pointing to two other stars. "And is a part of the Spring Triangle asterism and, by extension, the Great Diamond along with the star Cor Caroli." He explained, staring up at the ceiling with a dazed expression. Despite the fact that I had no idea what half the stuff he said was, I smiled. Seeing him so happy like he used to be, it was one of the highlights of my life, along with being one of Danny's closest and most trusted friends.

"Alright, c'mon Ghost Boy. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." I said, walking over to the chest with a black set of pajamas on top and 'Samantha' carved in gold on the front of the lid. I shook my head and sighed as I slipped off my day clothes and slipped on the PJ's and, upon opening the chest, I revealed ultra-recyclo-vegetarian approved salad, sandwiches, and a veggie burger. It also included two bottles of water and more first aid supplies.

Looking over at Danny and Tucker, I saw that each of them had also changed and had about the same amount of supplies as me. One wore a space pattern made of only three colors, black, white, and green, and had a salad, hamburger, two bottles of water, and a bit more first aid supplies where the other had what looked to be a computer mainframe pattern on his PJ's, along with meatloaf, a rib-eye, two bottles of water, and a brand new and unfortunately unmodified PDA, respectively.

"Clockwork, I could kiss you right now!" Tucker squealed, listing off names he could call his new PDA. Danny scrunched his nose in disgust and punched Tucker in the arm.

"Dude, gross! That's my dad you're talking about." Danny said, shivering in disgust.

"Whatever, dude! He got me meat and a PDA!" Tucker exclaimed, practically dancing over to Danny's bed and laying down, still listing names as he devoured his food. Rolling my eyes at their antics, I grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him over to his desk. He quickly cleaned it off, allowing me to sit in the chair as he sat, Indian style, in the air.

Hearing a snore as Danny went to go throw away our food containers, I turned to find Tucker had fallen asleep on his left side, face to the wall. His glasses were askew and his PDA was clutched close to his chest, as if he would never let it go. I removed his glasses and sat them on Danny's desk as Danny came and grabbed the comforter, phasing it through Tucker and placing it on top of him. Tucker shivered and shifted, attempting to bury himself in the mattress as the cold chill of intangibility wracked his unconscious body. Danny pulled the comforter up to his and Tuckers necks as he lay down, his back up against Tuckers as if to remind himself that his nerdy best friend was still there. I lay down in front of him, shivering as his too-cold arms wrap around my torso. I felt myself- despite the cold- burying myself into his chest, the comfort of the familiar chill he gave off mixing with the smell of his cologne and calming me into peaceful oblivion.

Mikey's POV

I groaned as I was jolted out of my uneasy slumber by someone shaking my shoulders.

"Mikey! Mikey wake up! Were going to leave soon!" I opened my eyes at the sound of the bushy haired boys voice only to find that he was the one shaking me awake. Closing my eyes again, I brought my fists up to my face and rubbed my eyes, attempting to wake myself up.

"What time is it?" I asked sleepily as I stretched, wishing I was back in the comfortable warmth of the strange ghosts guest bed. A luxury it seemed only Nathan and I shared. Valarie, however, looked tired beyond just waking up.

"I dunno," He said shaking his head. "but Danny was just knocking on all the doors. He said we should get going soon so we can get to our next destination." I was up as soon as I heard Danny's name, already changing out of the comfortable Pajamas that were in my chest and eating the toasted bagel and cream cheese that appeared there.

Danny, since the middle of freshman year, has become a buffer from the jocks for every nerd in the school. Any time that Danny caught any of the Jocks trying to pick on anyone- which was surprisingly often considering none of us could remember the last time we were shoved into a locker or given a swerlie- he would take the hit instead. Divert their attention onto him so they would forget about their original target. Every nerd noticed this. Danny didn't keep anyone out of the loop of his sacrifices. He would often be the center of our attention at any point, and conversations at lunch. He quickly gained the respect of many in school as most noticed- though only after the fact- what Danny was doing. With each cracking of his spine or echo in the hall as his back and head slammed into the lockers, and with every bruise or twisted limb he gained from being inside of said lockers, the more people started to notice and support him, though no one would take his place.

Now that we were here and we got to see more of the Danny that would save us at school, quickly telling us to run when the jocks were too preoccupied insulting him or pushing him against the locker, we were in complete awe. The way he took control even after being so badly hurt both at the island and at that ghost jail was incredible to me, and I don't think I can ever repay him for all he's done for me and my friends. I trust him with my life, which is why I was able to trust Clockwork in the first place. If Danny says he's nice, then I believe him, ghost or not. My thoughts were interrupted when there was a small rap on the door.

"Come in." I called as I gathered the remainder of my things. The door swung open and, standing in the door frame, was the person that has been at the forefront of my mind this entire time, the black hair and blue eyes almost too linked with the brooding personality.

"Hey, sorry to barge in. You guys almost ready?" He asked, smiling slightly. I looked up at him and, despite the smile, he seemed to have a threatening aspect to him, as if he could rip you in four if he wanted to.

"Uh, yeah. We were just finishing up." Nathan answered for me.

"Cool. Just meet me by the front door." He turned, closing the bedroom door behind him, leaving Nathan, Valarie and I to our own devices. Valarie, still giving off quite the unhappy vibe, grumbled something under her breath before exiting, all of her stuff in her two arms. Nathan and I quickly sped after her, quickly double checking that the room was empty of all of our stuff before gently shutting the door.

xXx

A/N: Definitely not as long as I would like it, but I seriously need to update something or I never will. Thanks for all of you who stuck around to see this crappy chapter. Doesn't have much in it either, more of a filler. Anyway, I'll try to get the next one up quick but, no promises. Sorry in advance.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny's POV

Pain. Pain was the only thing I recognized in this Hellscape I was currently in. The sky burned red with the heat of a thousand suns, burning my skin and singeing my hair. The air around me was thick and heavy, my lungs threatening to collapse inside my chest and my body begging for the useless oxygen that I so desperately grasped at, yet could not claim.

The ground below me cracked and broke off with just a clack of rock with every step, the pieces crumbling into the black abyss threatening to swallow me into its endless depths as I tried to keep ahead of the falling platform keeping me alive. My legs burned, an unusual feeling for my unnaturally fit body, and my head was pounding against my skull. There was, however, and endgame for going through this hell.

Sam.

About thirty yards in front of me, Sam was laying on the edge of what appeared to be relatively stable ground, but even that was crumbling at a frighteningly fast pace. I moved my legs faster, feeling them slam into the ground almost painfully as I tried to reach her.

I reached down at my heart for the cold core that resided there and, just for a moment, there was a flash, the cold quickly running through my body. My spirits immediately rose. I could save her! The flash disappeared and with it, my smile.

It didn't work.

I wanted to scream. I nearly did. But I couldn't loose focus. If I lost focus, Sam could die. I glanced behind me to see that the floor below me, still falling, was cracking under me much faster than it had been just seconds ago. I need to go faster.

Breath, left, right. Breath, left, right. Breath, left, right. Breathing became a habit, one unneeded for me to survive, but it gave me a sense of time, of hope. My knees shook, threatening to collapse under me, and my legs were like lead. I kept my eyes on Sam, watching the small pebble sized pieces of ground roll off the platform.

That could be her.

Her platform was relatively thin now, about the size of my own.

It broke.

"SAM!"

She fell.

"NO!"

I gasped as I bolted upright, tossing the covers off of my already too warm body. My internal clock was screaming that it was too early to be up, that one o'clock isn't a good time to wake, but I couldn't go back to sleep, not after that. My thick black hair stuck to my forehead, not with sweat, but with frost. I pulled it down in front of my face, examining the ecto-ice that formed there. Next to me, I felt both Sam and Tucker shiver. Using my own ectoplasm, I melted the ice and created a ghostly equivalent to a small fire.

"Danny? Is that you?" I heard Sam grumble from beside me, her voice still laced with sleep.

"Sorry Sam. Did I wake you?" I asked, frowning.

"Just about froze my nose off. Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, rubbing the sleep out of her amathyst eyes.

"I'm fine, Sam." I told her as I pulled the blankets back over me, giving her a small smile.

"I call bull. Spill." She pushed her torso off the bed, holding herself up with her left elbow, and glared down at me.

I pulled her back down on the bed, hearing her yelp in surprise. "Just a nightmare, I swear. I'm fine." I told her, chuckling slightly at her annoyed frown. She finally sighed and, bringing her legs over to press against mine, curled her head up to my neck, her hands pressing against my scarred, bare chest. Her body radiated warmth, and as she buried her face in my neck I could smell the familiar scent of her shampoo.

I was back asleep almost instantly.

When I woke up just a few hours later- four o'clock if I had to guess- while I was still shaking slightly from the nightmare, I was feeling astronomically better. The horror flashed behind my eyes as I stared down at Sam, her small frame completely enveloped by my own.

Placing my cold fist directly above her collarbone at the base of her slim neck, I let a small skull shaped pendant form, the ice chain wrapping loosely around her neck. The skull dropped onto the bed between us, the eyes, nose, and mouth green from the ectoplasm I had placed within the pendant.

I leaned down, lightly kissing her forehead as I cloned myself- if only not to move Sam- and gave my clone his silent orders to pack and prepare our stuff, make breakfast for Sam and Tucker, and, once it was late enough, knock on everyone's door to wake them up. He nodded and walked over to our things, picking up what little we had, before walking out the door.

It was only an hour later when I felt both Sam and Tucker stir from sleep, allowing me to call back my clone and get up myself. Sam and tucker, though groggy, were immediately alert, causing guilt to claw it's way into my chest. They shouldn't have to be alert all the time...

I shook my head and quickly dressed, packing the pajamas in Sam's bag and gathering anything that might be useful and stuffing it into my own. I glanced around at my room, discreetly checking the maps and notes that covered practically every square inch. I glanced toward the parts of the room that marked Pandora's castle, Dora's kingdom, and the Far Frozen. Dani...

I shook myself out of my thoughts and headed out the door to wake the others. It was about time to leave. I had to see Frostbite, to see Dani.

Tucker's POV

I held my new PDA tightly in my hands, adding in all of my old files and firewalls that I could remember off the top of my head. I'll have to upload all my stuff from the 'Hive' onto Cleo when we get back to Amity.

Thank Clockwork Danny helped me build the Hive, or we wouldn't have a back up system. He really is smarter than he or anyone else gives him credit for. He built an elevator to match the one to the ops center to the Hive from scratch for crying out loud! And you can't even tell by looking at my house! Luckily my parents don't go into the attic much or they might've noticed the change in space.

Shaking myself out of my stupor, I tuned back into what Danny had been explaining to the class. "...and we have to speed up our pace a bit. The less time we spend out in the open, the less chance of a bad ghost finding us." He told them, Clockwork hovering just behind him and Sam, who was to his left. "Right. Let's go." He said, turning to face Clockwork. "Really, thank you. I know you hate to interfere." Clockwork smiled gently, switching to his older form.

"And yet, when it comes to you, I can't help it." He sighed. Danny smiled up at him and reached up, hugging him tightly. Clockwork released Danny and flew backwards so the entire class could get to the doors comfortably, without having to come to close to him, and waved them all goodbye and good luck. We were once again taking the long trek to our next destination, and I will once again be without meat...

Clockwork's POV

I watched my son and his peers leave my tower after only a short time, a sad smile gracing my cold lips. I turned and headed to the back of my tower, to the farthest room from the entrance.

"I really can't help but save you, Daniel." I whispered to myself, the vivid image of Danny, my son, laying face up, dead, in a pile of snow. The green and red mix of his unique blood flowed out from under his back, staining the snow around him. The sight of his scream etched permanently on his face by death dancing just behind my long dead eyes. "Even if it means casting myself into oblivion." I finished, uncapping the thermos and flinging it into the green abyss of the ghost zone. I turned as ten observants burst through the door to my tower, half of them brandishing deadly staffs, the other half, rope.

"You have crossed the line Clockwork! You have meddled too much for the halfa child! Your time and chances are used!" One of them shouted as they made their way to me.

"You must forget that time is under my control, not it's own. I never run out of time." I stood tall, different versions of this encounter playing just behind my eyes.

"And you are under our control!" The observant stated, aiming his staff.

"I am under no one's control. Especially not yours. I am Clockwork. I am the sandman. I am Father Time. I am stronger than you will ever be, and I will not let Daniel die." I felt my eyes shine their bright red, my scar on my forehead and eye burning a bright white, the pattern expanding until a pattern formed on my face.

The pattern of a broken clock.

I was going to die.

Daniel will live. He will be safe.

"You will not take my family away from me..." I clenched my jaw, a memory of a broken man, tears staining his face, his hair and clothes old, wrinkled, and stained. Three bodies lay around him, all of them with a broken clock etched into their flesh.

"...Not again..." My arm jerked downwards, my staff slamming against the floor with a resounding crack. A flash of light emitting from the now-broken clock on the top...

And I knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all your support on my stories. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it keeps me writing when I get writers block. I love you guys and I love reading your comments and I try to respond, but apologies if I don't. I'm not on AO3 as much as I used to be, and by the time I come back, its already been way to long to respond!


	7. Chapter 7

Previously...

"You will not take my family away from me..." I clenched my jaw, a memory of a broken man, tears staining his face, his hair and clothes old, wrinkled, and stained. Three bodies lay around him, all of them with a broken clock etched into their flesh.

"...Not again..." My arm jerked downwards, my staff slamming against the floor with a resounding crack. A flash of light emitting from the now-broken clock on the top...

And I knew no more.

 

Danny's POV

Something was wrong.

A blinding flash from Clockworks tower blinded everyone around me, and left me reeling. What was that?

"DAD!" I called back to the tower, searching for another gear to pull me across. I was just yanking at the cold spot inside my chest when two sets of hands stopped me.

"Danny, calm down. That could very well have been Clockwork. Besides, Even if it wasn't, he didn't send another gear for a reason." Sam reasoned as she and Tucker pulled me from the edge of the path.

"Yeah dude, remember, everything Clockwork does is for a reason." Tucker soothed.

"Hey... is anyone else feeling a bit... dizzy..." I quickly grabbed Sam and Tuck to keep them from falling to the floor and spun to the voice, only to find everyone collapsing in front of me. Their bodies becoming blurry and unfocused as my brain shut itself down.

"Hey, what... gives..."

Frostbite's POV

I walked down the crystalline halls of our icy tundra, my good arm running over the different designs etched into the wall. Daniel had made us some decorations for our homes as soon as he was comfortably using his ice powers, almost as a thank you of such. We worship his work, taking excellent care of the decor and all its detail, the ice weaving in and out of itself, ducking over and under in a delicate fashion.

"Frostbite!" I heard someone yell as the doors from one of the rooms was thrown open.

"Icebreeze? What is it?" I asked, stepping away from the wall and towards the door.

"Its the Great One and his friends, sir! They're outside and unconscious!" Icebreeze panted. My eyes widened and I immediately headed out the door.

"Alert the others! Bring them into the infirmary! I'm certain Great one will need it." I muttered under my breath, walking out into the blizzard with Icebreeze.

Danny's POV

..."Thank you..."  
..."And yet for you..."  
...Brightness...  
..."DAD"...

I bolted upright, for a moment seeing nothing but white.

"Dad!?" I panted, dizzily searching around the new surroundings. Weren't we just at Dads tower?

"Easy, Great One. You don't want to pull at your bandages." My head snapped to the right, towards the familiar voice.

"Frostbite? How did we get here? What happened?" I asked, looking around at my unconscious classmates.

"You know as much as I do Great One. You just appeared outside in the blizzard." Frostbite explained as he checked my wounds.

"How long have we been out? Is the class okay?" I asked him, looking worriedly around at the rest of the class.

"You have been out for a few hours. Whatever knocked you unconscious did a good job of keeping you so." Frostbite and I both turned as groans and rustling escaped some of the other students, everyone slowly waking up.

"Frostbite!" Sam and Tucker called in unison, smiles on both of their faces.

"GHOST!" My eyes widened as I heard the familiar hum of an ectogun charging and, without even thinking, I leapt in front of frostbite, the charge burning through my bandages and burning my abused back.

"Great One!" Frostbite called, reaching out and catching me as I fell. Another gasp, unfamiliar to most of the class, sounded in the doorway.

"DADDY!" A small red, black, and blue blur sped over to me and stood next to Frostbite.

"Dani?" I groaned, blinking up at her. "Dani!" I scrambled to my feet, the burn on my back a mild disturbance compared to how much I needed to hold Dani. My pounding heart slowed as I felt her slightly warmer body, her long hair tickling my bare stomach. "Dear Clockwork I missed you so much."

"Are you okay Daddy? You're not hurt are you?" Despite the feeling of the blood running down my back, the raw skin flayed and blackened, I couldn't make her cry.

"I'm okay baby. It was just a sting." I told her as I glared back at my class, daring them to say otherwise. They all glanced at one another, opting to stay quiet. I mouthed my thanks and picked up Dani, placing her on my hip. She wrapped her small arms around my shoulders and hid her face in the crook of my neck.

"Daniel James Fenton! Who is this and why is she calling you her father?!" Madeline exclaimed, completely forgetting the fact that she had just shot me in the back.

"Everyone, this is Dani." I slowly explained. I small gasp sounded from the other side of the room where Valarie resided.

"One N and an I!" Dani added. I smiled down at her.

"Yeah, one N and an I. She's my daughter." I told them as I shifted her onto my other hip, her small fingers brushing through my hair.

"How? She looks twelve?"* Mikey asked, most everyone else agreeing with the question. I glanced down at Dani, not knowing if me telling them could upset her.

"Its okay papa. You can tell 'em." I smiled sadly down at her before looking back to my class.

"She's my defective clone." A pregnant pause followed, the only reactions being silent ones. Eyes widened and jaws dropped, matching reactions of disbelief appearing on everyone's face. A loud thud sounded from the right as Valarie dropped her bag in shock, her hands flying up to cover her mouth, her eyes watering.

"No! No that's not- that's not right! Not possible! You-" She cut herself off as I stepped towards her.

"Val, I-" She shook her head, cutting me off.

"No! He tortured you and her to try to make a perfect clone! That means that you- that I-" I cut her off quickly, not liking the path of self loathing that this was taking.

"Valarie, please! It's okay! I know what happened, I know what I told you. Its okay, Val. It's fine." I said as I slowly walked over to her. Dani reached out to her, remembering her.

"Val!" She squealed happily. Val gave her a shaky smile, but didn't take her from me. She was clearly still not trusting herself around her.

"Hey Dani. I'm sorry about what I did to your dad." Val practically whispered.

"Papa doesn't mind! He never did! Right papa?" She said proudly, looking over to me with big, proud eyes. I smiled back.

"Course sweetheart. Never have." Dani looked up at me, her eyes thoughtful.

"Daddy, where's mommy?" My eyes widened as I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Snickers were heard from the crowd and Tucker was shamelessly laughing. I sighed.

"She's over with uncle Tuck." I told her, starting to walk as I tried to cool myself down.

"Mommy!" She jumped out of my hands and right into Sam's arms, making Tucker laugh even louder. I decided to take a page out of Sam's book, and kicked him in the shin.

"Hey Dani." Sam said, smiling down at her as a loud 'Ow! Danny!' sounded next to them.

"Uncle Tuck!"

"Hey Dani! How's my favorite little Gigabyte doing?" Tucker cooed, his voice strained and hands cradling his shin. I smiled and shook my head at Tuckers nickname for Dani. Him and his electronics.

"Good!" Dani replied, giggling. "Guess what? Guess what? I got to help Icecrystal with dinner yesterday!" Dani said proudly.

"That's amazing Dani! You didn't burn it did you?" I teased.

"No papa! That was only one time!" Dani laughed.

"A week." Sam added.

"For two months." Tucker finished, feeling slightly better. Dani crossed her arms, pulling her lips into a pout. "We've heard the tales." I laughed and kissed the top of her head, setting her down.

"Yes, speaking of dinner, I suppose that you are all famished." All my classmates nodded. "Please, allow us to hold a feast in your honour." All my classmates grinned, talking excitedly amungst themselves.

"And how do we know we can trust you?" Everyone turned to see Maddie, both hands occupied with a bazooka that was aimed directly at Frostbite. I scowled, glaring at her as I stormed forward. I raised my hand before bringing it down hard, knocking the bazooka out of her hand before using my forearm to spin the device, catching the barrel and trigger in my hands easily.

"You threaten Frostbite or anyone in Far Frozen, you threaten me." I lifted my knee, bringing the bazookas middle down on the sharp bone, snapping the thick metal in half. Shoving the pieces back into her hands, I turned and walked out into the hallway that led to the dining room. "Do not threaten my family."

I sat at the head of the table, directly across from Frostbite who was sat at the other head, Sam and Tucker sat directly to my left, Dani to my right, and the others- with the exception of Jack and Madeline Fenton, who were standing in a corner of the room, sulking over their broken bazooka- all scattered around the table.

I raised my glass, lightly tapping my spoon against it to gather everyone's attention. Frostbite and his people immediately quieted, the humans following suit after noticing the loud laughing and joyous banter from the ghosts had quieted.

"I apologize for the unfortunate situations that brought us here and the many things that you should never have experienced, but I thank you all for sticking by me. I must also thank Frostbite and his people for helping us and providing us with more food than we could ever hope for. To Frostbite, and to getting everyone home." Cheers erupted from many as everyone gathered food onto their plates, regular human food for the humans, and ectoplasmic food for the ghosts and I.

"Papa? Why can't I eat what you're eating?" Dani whispered to me, knowing i would be able to hear her.

"Because, sweetheart. I'm more ghost than you are. You need human food because I was more human when you were created than I am now." I grinned at her. "Besides, that tastes ten times better than this does." I grinned triumphantly as she giggled, taking another bite of the steak on her plate.

She, Sam, and Tucker had come to an agreement on her diet long ago, when Sam and Tucker had been arguing over her well-being. They came to the conclusion that she could eat meat on special occasions and when she really wanted it, but she wouldn't go out of her way to eat anything that had a face, much like Tucker does. I quietly sat, sipping from a wine glass full of diluted ectoplasm. Usually I'd drink it pure, but that causes my eyes to turn green, so I had to settle for the diluted alternative.

"Great One." I snapped out of my musings to find Frostbite standing beside me, and many others up from the table and socializing with one species or another.

"Frostbite. I don't suppose the ship you started a few months back is finished?"

"Yes, actually. We finished it a fortnight or so ago. I thought you might want to get your people back home, so I'm having Snowfrost and others set it up for launch." I sighed in relief. I can get everyone back home, hopefully unharmed.

"Thank you so much Frostbite. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for everything you do for me." Frostbite smiled and shook his head.

"This is just an attempt to repay everything you have done for us, Great One."

"Your highness'." I turned to find Snowfrost bowing to Frostbite and I, before speaking. "The vehicle is ready to launch, if you would like to gather your people, sir." I nodded once.

"Thank you very much Snowfrost. I will be right with you." Snowfrost bowed once more before taking her leave, heading back towards the vehicle bay. "Well, until next time, Frostbite."

"Anytime, Great One."

"Attention everyone! Attention please!" The chatter and noise of the crowded room paused as I spoke. "There is a vehicle waiting to depart in the vehicle bay, destination: Amity Park. I encourage everyone to hurry to the vehicle so we can get home as fast as possible." The humans cheered and gathered around me, chatting happily amungst themselves.

They walked behind me as I made my way to the vehicle bay, their loud chatting and footsteps echoing through the corridor. They all immediately ran for the vehicle as we walked in the door, the large machine easily fitting all of us with plenty of room to spare. I plopped myself into the pilots seat, the cool leather feeling warm against my ice cold back. I powered up the machine, the smooth hum of the engine powering oddly soothing, lulling me into a sense of peace. I pressed on the gas as I waved at the members of the Far Frozen, taking us into the depths of the Ghost Zone.

"I've been looking for you, your highness." Everyone turned to me as my voice echoed through the vehicle.

My eyes widened in realization and I immediately jerked my foot from the gas. Running to the back, I looked out to the green depths of the ghost Zone, until someone blocked my line of sight.

"Interesting, when I was younger, I never became king, but I guess I didn't live as long as you have, either." Red eyes flashed as an ecto-blast was sent straight to my face, shattering the window.

I barely had enough time to yell for everyone to get down and create a shield around them before a ghastly sound shattered all the windows, echoing off the green force-field, bursting my eardrums. Blood poured down the sides of my face, my super-healing just barely healing my ears in time to save my hearing.

"You can't escape from me Daniel!" The baritone voice called. "I may exist outside of time, but that doesn't mean I'm not possible." I opened my eyes to find white flames and red eyes peering down at me. The figure grinned wildly, maniacally. "Time to die, Daniel."


	8. Chapter 8

Danny's POV

I was shaking like a leaf.

Well, that's actually a gross understatement. My brain paused only a beat before it went into overdrive, my body absentmindedly side stepping in front of the crowd behind me, my fists trembling and throat dry. I was terrified.

Energy tingled and buzzed in my hand, the green orb bathing my body in a soft green light. My fingers tingled the longer I held it, like a limb falling asleep, and I raised my hand and held it behind me, my hand acting as a slingshot as the energy rocketed out of my hand and towards him. Quickly grabbing some of the energy, I pulled back as the energy grew into a long, thin rope. I flicked my wrist, green electricity surrounding the ecto-rope and shocking Dan, distracting him enough so I could use my ghostly wail to knock him back a bit. My throat tore open and I felt hot matallic blood mixed with the sour tinge of ectoplasm run down into my stomach and lungs, my more vulnerable human figure rejecting the use of such power, only stopping to cough up the red and green blood that was gushing from my vocal chords and throat. It stopped him, if temporarily. Just enough to talk to Sam and Tucker. Get them out.

My throat mended itself as I spun around to the shocked, confused, scared gazes of the plane staff, my classmates, my parents, and my teacher.

"You guys need to get out of here!" I croaked. My voice was shaking and rough, pain searing through it as I used the damaged muscles to speak.

"No, Danny! We're not leaving you here!" Sam yelled, shaking her head.

"Yeah, dude. Especially not with him!"

"Sam, Tucker, I-"

"Uh-uh. No. Whenever you want to tell us things is when you think you might not come back. Not this time. When you come back, that's when you can tell us."

"But-"

"I don't wanna hear it. You tell us when you come back, got that?"

"Samantha, please." Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back her tears, her faded purple lipstick looking wrong on her face. She needed to be home, able to put on her makeup fresh, able to not worry about any ghosts, nevermind Dan.

"Tuck, I love you man. You're my best friend, have been all our lives. We've been friends since we were born, our parents being old high school friends. You're my oldest friend, but you're also more than that. You're my brother, Tuck. The amount of stuff we've had to deal with, we dealt with it together. I couldn't imagine a life with out you in it." Tucker, currently supporting Sam, attempted a smile, trying to lighten up the mood. For whom, I'm not entirely sure.

"Love you too, dude. And that's why you're gonna get your butt back here ASAP, got it?" I nodded curtly before turning my head to the right, where Tuckers arms supported someone who should never need support for something like this. I've dug my own grave, yes, but I've also dragged my friends into it.

"Sam. I- there's no where that I went that I went without you. Dentists, doctors, anywhere you were I was and where I was you were. We've been inseparable all our lives and, God, Sam, I love you. I would have told you sooner but I was so afraid. But now isn't a time to be afraid. Fear won't help me save you, only bravery."

"Bravery isn't the absence of fear, bravery is fighting in spite of that fear. And you, Daniel, are brave." I looked up at my grim looking English teacher.

"Thank you." I only paused a second before shooting an ecto-blast, hitting the autopilot button and destroying it all at once.

I heard Sam scream as I transformed, neon green rings forming from my navel and changing me into my stonger king Phantom form, and flew intangibly through the speeder, rising up to meet Dan, still recovering from being caught off guard.

"You've gotten faster. I hate it." He hissed, his forked tongue slipping in and out of his mouth- not unlike a snake- as his hair flickered atop his head in an almost mesmerizing pattern. "You're scared. I can taste it."

"Of course I'm scared. With that face, who wouldn't be?" I choked out, attempting to keep my voice as level as possible.

"Ah, and yet you're horrible jokes still remain."

"I quite like my jokes, thank-you-very-much."

"Besides, it wasn't so much a joke as the truth, Dipstick" I spun to find a light blue figure hovering just behind me, a scowl on her usually calm face.

"Ember?" 

"Yup, and I brought a few friends." The green swirling sky was suddenly filled with all different colors as tens of thousands of ghosts became visible all around us, some I recognized, some I did not. I grinned as I turned back to Dan, equal amounts of surprise and fear flashing across his face.

I felt something soft curl around my wrist before launching itself at Dan, it's elongated fangs sinking into his ghostly flesh, filling him with its poisonous toxins. His large hand wrapped around the small body and flung it off of himself and onto the ground, the ghost quickly shaking itself off and slithering up my leg and into my sleeve.

"I have my family, Dan. Isn't that what you wanted? Family? Isn't that why you destroyed everything?" My hand shot out on instinct, blue beams just missing Dan's large torso.

"Say that again when you're at my mercy." He growled, manipulated beams of blinding ectoplasm as sharp as Bertrand's claws ripping into my stomach and side, ectoplasm freely flowing down my right side and dripping from my foot, the atmosphere absorbing it as soon as it left my body.

"I'll won't let you get away with this!" My hands flew to my side as pain rocketed through me, the ectoplasm running through my fingers and over my hands.

"You don't let me do anything!" He hissed as I dodged an ectoblast. "I'm older and stronger than you! You do my bidding!" A wave of orange threw me backwards and through the other ghosts, burning through my skin and singeing my hair. The smell of burning flesh filled my nose as my ears rung from the scream that was emanating from my throat.

The burning stopped for only a second, but it was just enough time for me to dodge his next attack. I tried to get closer, but every time I got closer, he would strike. He reached behind him, grasping something before sending it towards me, the greenish white tint of ghost ice catching my eye before the dagger ripped through the soft spot on my armor and plunged into my stomach.

My heavy breathing was suddenly the only noise in the air as I summoned green rings of ectoplasm around my waist. Instead of going across my body and changing my form as I expected it to, the rings blew outwards, blasting everything within its radius back and knocking Dan unconscious. I quickly grabbed my- thankfully empty- thermos and sucked him into it before reaching down and pulling the dagger out of my stomach, the sharp sides and tip scraping against the sensitive muscle and organs, a numbing pain shooting from my navel to my spine. I floated for a minute as my super healing did it's job, the pain slowly dulling. It was only when I looked back up that I realized that no ghosts were standing with me. I was alone.

I flew forward, attempting to fly out to see if they had just flown off, but I stopped. Maybe most of them would, yes, but Skulker would make sure I knew I owed him, Frostbite would say hello, and so many other ghosts would be in no rush, so where did they go?

"It's one of your powers, illusions." I spun around, a familiar purple and blue hooded figure floating a few feet in front of me.

"Clockwork! I saw the flash from your tower and I didn't know what to think and I was so scared and-"

"Daniel, please, I'm alright. It was the Observants, there was nothing you could do." He cooed, wrapping his long arms around my neck, his purple silk cloak soothing my overactive brain.

"You've had the power since the beginning, yet rarely used it, and never on purpose. That is what originally drew me to you, other than the fact that you are the only true halfa in existence." Those last words rung in my ears, looping in my mind like a broken record as I pulled away to look up at him.

"Whoa, wait, what?"

"You mean you haven't noticed? Why am I not surprised. (Other than the fact that you know everything?) The differences between you and Vlad are much larger than just your personality, Danny."

"How? I thought-" I cut off my own thoughts, not sure where to start.

"You were fully inside of your parents portal when it activated." Clockwork started. "Vlad, however was only blasted with a small proto-portal that was not fully functioning and had the wrong ingredients in the first place. 

"Vlad ended up with a bad case of ecto-acne and did not change form immediately, you did not get ecto-acne and did change forms immediately. You have human skin color and were electrocuted in the portal, Vlad has blue ghostly skin and was not electrocuted. 

"You have an elemental core and are the exact opposite of the way you looked when you went into the portal, Vlad has a standard core and looks almost nothing like he did when he got his powers." I stared up into Clockworks eyes, seeing the prideful and knowing look behind the glistening red orbs. "You two have never been alike, and you have always been more powerful." He reached out as my flight failed me, -if I were just standing my knees would have given out- catching me in time to stop me from plunging into the bottomless pit of the ghost zone. I opened my mouth to say something- anything- but my mind was spinning with questions and information and I could barely create a comprehensive thought, let alone speak.

"An elemental core is a core with more than one main element. The power that Dan used to burn you just before you caught him was the fire part of your core, which sets next to your water core and ice core." He shook his head. "Daniel, I can tell you more about this later. Right now you have a family and many people worried about you. It was a miracle you all survived-"

"Probably your doing."

"And now that they know who you truly are, maybe you can make amends and explain some things." I sighed, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

"You're right. Thank you, Clockwork. I will be back soon, though, and I'll have a lot of questions."

"Of course. Go home, Danny." With a wave of his staff- if the glass on top broken? I'll have to ask him about that- a bright light shone from a spinning clock hand, the light enveloping Clockwork before going out immediately, taking him with it and leaving empty green swirls where he once was. I turned to the direction of the partal, the same direction the speeder went, before pausing.

"I'm already home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done! I don't like it much, but it's done! I honestly think I could do better, but if I keep it ant longer it just won't get uploadd so, here you go!


	9. Chapter 9

Danny's POV

Even at a slow pace, it took me all of an hour and a half to get to the portal, my stalling doing nothing more than building the weight of dread in my stomach, like sand being poured into a bucket.

The closer I got to the portal, the more it felt like bricks were being piled onto my chest. By the time I stopped in front of the swirling green of the Fenton Portal, I was about ready to turn around and fly away. Fly away from all of my fears. Dissapear for a while. But I couldn't do that, I wouldn't do that. Not to Sam. Not to Tuck. Not to Jazz. 'Besides,' I reasoned. 'I need to check to see if everyone's okay or I'll never be able to live with myself.'

I held out my hand as it started to glow blue, different little ice sculptures forming and melting in my hand. A great way to relieve stress, I find. When I finally gather the courage to fly through the portal, the lab is, mercifully, empty. I let out a long breath I didn't know I was holding and took a moment to take in my surroundings. Familiar and yet so new. I started to climb the steps, my feet and legs feeling like two lead bricks attached to my body, getting heavier and more stiff as I climbed.

I winced as the door creaked open, the sound of the protesting hinges sounding like a gunshot in an empty room. Three figures appeared in front of me almost instantly, the familiar sound of combat boots against the floor calming me almost immediately.

"Danny! Oh, God! Danny you look horrible!" One of them gasped as she examined the burns, the other two hovering awkwardly behind her.

"Thanks, Sam. Real self-esteem booster right there." I replied sarcastically, staring at the floor as to avoid eye contact with anyone in the room. "I'm fine. The burns will heal." I could feel their stares burning and boring holes into the side of my head, acutely aware of the sound of their rapid heartbeats and breathing from across the room.

"Danny, the burns are everywhere! Look at yourself!" Sam said as she pulled out her phone, opening the camera on selfie mode and handing it to me.

I slowly, hesitantly, lifted the phone to my eyes, inhaling sharply as I took in my charred face, my cheek burned almost down to the bone, the white just peaking through strings of red and black. I sighed, handing the phone back. "But I'm alive, aren't I? I'll heal."

"Daniel... is this why you're never in school?" I looked up and to my left, Mr. Lancer holding back a gasp as he took in my, admittedly frightening, appearance. I remembered back to what Clockwork told me about the power of illusions, and focused on my appearance. I knew it had worked when Lancer let out a surprised squeak. "Did you just... heal?" I shook my head.

"Illusion. I figured you'd be more comfortable with normal looking Danny Fenton instead of a half burnt Danny Phantom." I murmured. "But, yes. This is why I'm always missing school, this is why I knew the ghost zone so well, this is why I could stand up to walker and his goons and not die, and this is why I have all the scars." Maddie suddenly appeared in front of me, curiosity and poorly disguised distaste overwhelming her features.

"Danny, we're so sorry-" She started, her voice sickeningly sweet,very much to the point of obnoxious.

"No," I cut her off. "you're not sorry. You still despise phantom, and I'm not so sure me being Danny Fenton helps all that much."

"We didn't know-"

"No, you just didn't care enough to ask. Shoot first and ask questions while you're in the middle of my vivisection. That's the only way your mind works."

"We would never-!"

"Really?" I asked her as I dropped the illusion. "Because I'm pretty sure I got this from somewhere." I said accusingly, as I made the chest part of my suit intangible, revealing a feint 'Y' shaped scar hidden among all the others that littered my torso. "And I could be wrong, but I do vividly remember crying out for you to stop as you started to rip open my chest!

"I begged and pleaded because I couldn't do anything else because you drugged me! But did you listen? No. Because to you I'm just a putrid blob of ectoplasm. Right, Madeline?" I could feel the fear radiating off of nearly everyone in the room as my anger rose, Maddie saying nothing as she calmly walked up the stairs, my father still nowhere in sight.

I sighed, letting my burnt face fall into my open palms, ignoring any twinges of pain as I did so. I sat were I stood, floating about three feet in the air as I rested my hands on my knees and closed my eyes, focusing all of my power on healing myself- my face at the very least.

I could feel my muscle and tissues mending together as the charred skin dissapeared, leaving now-flawless glowing skin in its wake.

Exhausted- even though I had only healed my face- I fell to the floor, reverting to Danny Fenton as my side and arm landed on the floor with a loud 'thump!' I sighed as I flipped onto my back, not even bothering to stand as I rested my arm across my eyes, attempting to forget the last few days. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, curiosity and uncertainty rolling off them in waves.

"Ask." I grumbled suddenly, feeling the surprise and sudden fear pour over the group, making my jaw clench and my throat tighten.

They were afraid because of me.

And I hated it.

Dash's POV

"Ask." All of our eyes widened, my heart rate increasing. Fear suddenly enveloped my senses, sitting heavily above my heart. "You have questions. Go on, I don't bite."

'Are you sure about that?' I shook my head, squashing that little voice in the back.

'Of course he wouldn't! He's still Danny Phantom! Still the hero!' I heard my own voice echo inside my head, so focused on my inner turmoil that the person stepping forward and the voices were nothing but static in the back of my brain.

'And you're his bully. Have been for a while. Do you think he won't have even the slightest bit of anger towards you?' I mentally whimpered at this. 'While he was out saving your sorry ass from ghosts, you were shoving him into lockers and down toilets. And judging by all those scars, it's almost impossible for you to not have aggravated a wound or two doing so.'

"Where will you go?" Mr. Lancers voice cut through my thoughts like a knife through butter, severing my train of thought and bringing my brain to a halt.

I was so busy worrying about what he thought of me, I never thought about him. "You clearly can't stay here, not now, and you're not old enough to buy a house or an apartment."

"I'll stay in my castle in the Ghost Zone." I blinked, remembering the fire-covered crown he had atop his head during his fight with whats-his-face. "I have duties there anyway, and the ghosts are just waiting for me to move there. Easier to get a hold of me if they can roam in the open, instead of hiding from humans."

"But, Daniel, what about your schooling?"

"It doesn't take me long to get from school to my castle, and it won't take me long to get back, either." Danny told him. "I'm still going to come to school, just don't expect me to stay all day. I might have things to do, people to see, and the like."

"I'm so sorry, Daniel. You don't deserve this." Mr Lancer said as he hung his head, guilt so laced into his features, I honestly couldn't picture him any other way. "We have all placed the world upon your shoulders and then yelled at you for it."

"Yeah, but no one else deserves it either, so I shoulder it and shut up." He said nonchalantly, shrugging. "Besides, I'm more equipped than most to handle it."

"Maybe physically but, mentally, you shouldn't be going through any of this. All the detentions, suspensions, essays, and extra work you get in all your classes. All of your teachers berating you for something you can't help! It's inexcusable!" Everyone stared at Mr. Lancer in confusion as his anger and guilt made its presence known in the form of tears running down his cheeks.

"Mr. Lancer. You didn't know, none of you did. You can't be held responsible for things you didn't technically do."

"Like we did to you?" He countered. "All those things we said about you, ghost and human, if we aren't responsible for the things we actually did, then why are we holding you accountable for actions you didn't do?"

"Because sometimes you get the short end of the stick. It just happens more to me because I'm a ghost, and not human. Not really."

"But that shouldn't matter! Its-"

"It shouldn't, but it does. Please, Mr. Lancer, just leave it."

"But-!"

"Lenard Lancer, if you don't drop this right now, I will purposely fail my next English test." A sad smile graced it's way upon his lips as he looked at- no- scanned Danny, his eyes trailing up and down his scarred form until finally settling on his eyes.

"You can stay with me or come to me for help any time, Danny. I'll help you as best I can." Danny's head shot up in surprise, his eyes widening to an almost comedic size as he stared at Mr. Lancer. "Its the least I can do, after what we've all done, and after all you've done for us, even without our knowledge."

"I- You-" Danny was quiet for a few moments, and I briefly wondered how many humans tend to offer him help, other than the few that want to, but can not. "Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lancer. You have no idea how much that means to me." Mr. Lancers gaze quickly flickered over to the steps leading to the second floor.

"I think I have some idea." He breathed. "In the meantime, we will say nothing. Agreed?" He suddenly turned, his eyebrows raised and chin up. Everyone around me immediately nodded, I doing so almost automatically. "Then I suppose we are all needing to be on our way. Thank you, Daniel, for getting us all home as unharmed as we could be."

"Just doing my job Mr. Lancer. I'll see you all on Monday, I guess." He muttered, the entire class, me included, huddling at the door. All I wanted desperately was to go home and sleep in my own bed, forgetting all of this. I rushed out the door, not even bothering to say bye to anyone, and sprinted down the street and back to my house, throwing open the front door before slamming it shut. I ran up my stairs, yelling hello to my parents before running into my room and closing my bedroom door, collapsing behind it. My thoughts were swirling in my brain, clouding my mind. My hands were shaking and my breaths shallow. We were back. I'm home. I'm safe. Sure, Fenton turned out to be Phantom, but that didn't change much, not really. Not outside of my head, at least. Everything is back to normal. So why does it feel like everything is so different?

 

A/N: Not as long as I would like, but it works, I suppose. I hope you enjoyed! See you in another ten years!


	10. Chapter 10

Mr. Lancers POV

The soles of my shoes slammed loudly onto the dirt covered tiles of the Casper High floors, the dark, empty hallways stretching impossibly far as the echoing of my steps grew ever quieter the farther they traveled. My body was heavy and sore, my arms curling against my chest as the folders of papers stacked upon them caused them to ache.

I could only assume how long I'd been up, the last few days being somehow crystal clear, while also being in a haze. My internal clock was completely off, and I sure as Shakespeare couldn't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, let alone get a clear thought into my head. My mind felt like it was in knots, each thought a string that weaved in and out, over and under each other. I was a mess, I knew. My usually ironed, crisp shirt was a wrinkled disaster, my goatee went unshaven, stubble dotting my face. The bags under my eyes were darker than usual, and my eyelids drooped with the weight of my thoughts.

How must Daniel feel? If I am like this after only a few days, how has he gotten by for years without breaking?

Or maybe he has broken, and I just never knew.

I flailed, my arms shooting forward to catch me as I rapidly and unexpectedly descended towards the hard surface below me. I took a deep breath, steadying my heart beat as my papers settled onto the floor, the once neat piles now scattered throughout the hall.

"Need a hand?" I nearly screamed as a pair of familiar black boots came into view, a slender, pale hand reaching down towards me.

"Daniel, what are you doing here so early?" I asked him, grasping his hand so he could haul me to my feet. He knelt to the floor as he answered, neatly stacking my papers in their correct folders.

"I don't need as much sleep as normal people do, so I mostly patrol during the night when I have nothing to do." He stood, his muscles rippling just underneath his baggy shirt, if you looked close enough.

"What about the ghost zone? Your... your castle?" The question felt wrong, foreign on my tongue.

"This is as much my home as that is. I grew up here, my sister, best friends, grandmother, they're all here. Many of the people I know are here. I can't just... cut myself off from this place." He stayed silent for a moment, but I swore I could hear his mind, his thoughts dark and jumbled, yet in an orderly fashion. Almost as if he'd figured out a method to the madness of his mind.

It was only then, walking into my darkened classroom at lord-only-knows what hour in the morning, that I noticed, I could only hear a single pair of footfalls. I glanced down at Daniels feet, the soles of the heavy boots clearly stopping against the floor, but no noise was coming from the typically loud shoes. A shiver traveled down my spine, an unconscious warning, I supposed, to warn me about a potential predator.

"Sam says that keeping this place safe might be my obsession. Says that it's the only thing that makes sense." I lifted my hand, pinching the bridge of my nose to fight off the upcoming headache. "Right, sorry. I guess this is a bit hard for you, huh?" I flinched as something cold came to rest on my temples, my eyes opening to find Daniel standing in front of me, his eyes blue, white swirling about in his irises. It was almost... hypnotizing. "Sorry, shoulda warned you." He gently brought his hands back down upon my temples, the headache fading away almost instantly.

"Thank you."

"Its the least I can do." I watched carefully as Daniel suddenly shivered, his breath coming out cold and cloudy. He smiled down at me, looking almost sheepish in posture. "Duty calls. See you in class Mr. Lancer. Or at the very least, detention."

"Yes, of course." I paused, my brain suddenly doing too many things at once. I couldn't just let him leave to do this on his own, could I? But I know nothing about any of this, so would I just get in the way if I tried to help? "Erm, Daniel?"

"Yes, Mr. Lancer?"

"Just..." I sighed, running through what I could possibly say to make any of this any better. "Just try not to get thrown around too much, okay? When we got back from the trip I bought a first aid kit for my desk- the biggest one the store had, since I'd seen what happens if a ghost gets a hold of you- but I'd really rather not have to use it." He blinked owlishly at me for a moment, before grinning at me, the sight sadly strange on the boy.

"I'll try Mr. Lancer!"

"And come to me if you get so much as a paper cut, understand?" He nodded rapidly.

"Of course! Bye, Mr. Lancer, and thank you!" My hands instinctively raised up to my eyes as a flash erupted from Daniels midsection, my eyes automatically closing against the bright light. My hands lowered as soon as the light faded, my eyes opening only to find Daniel gone, the spot he'd been in shimmering as the light hit it. I walked over, reaching my hand out to whatever was shining on the floor, my fingers curling around something slightly cold and smooth, my fingertips fitting perfectly into the grooves.

I lifted the item up to my eyes, the beautiful white-blue color turning slightly green as the darkness of my palm enveloped it. I ran my eyes over the delicate edges and grooves, realizing with a start that it was not a random shape or item. I gazed at the odd substance in my hand, unlike any glass or plastic I'd ever seen. It was see through, almost like it wasn't even there, but if I focused on it and not through it, it was a blueish-white color, glowing green in the dark. The piece fit perfectly around my wrist, King Phantoms Emblem etched into the top, designs decorating the rest.

I'd have to ask him what it was for later, but for now I have some classes to prepare for.

Kwans POV

I could hear my heartbeat in my chest, the rapid, thumping pressure against my rib cage doing nothing to calm me down. I had barely slept last night, finding myself tossing and turning for hours, unable to quiet my brain. Every time I closed my eyes I saw him, always kind, always smiling, but that made it that much worse. The few hours of sleep that I happened to manage were plagued with nightmares, that one singular scar that ran across and down Danny's- Daniel's? Phantom's? Mr. Phantom's? It felt wrong to call him 'Danny' after all this. Do I even have the right and privilege?- chest haunted my every thought, always in the back of my mind no matter what I was doing.

My mom had noticed, I knew. She was worried, but what could I tell her? Certainly not the truth, I couldn't betray Daniel like that. Not after knowing what he's been through for me, for us. I had always hated how Dash, the others, and I treated the other people at Casper, but I couldn't honestly tell myself that I'd thought of any of them going through anything so severe before or after our bullying. How many people were going through something- perhaps not as intense as Daniels experiences, but just as damaging to them- when us "A-List" came over to give them a hard time?

That thought made me sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE ONLY BETA THIS HAS IS ME!!! So please, if you see any mistakes, intentional on my part or not, point them out! You're not being mean, you're like a beta after the fact!
> 
> So this one was a lot more Lancer-centric than I intended it to be, but no worries! Other characters (and Kwan, again) will show up in the last however many chapters there will be.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Lancer is amazing!

Danny's POV 

Sharp pains shot through my side as I bolted through the front door of Casper High at eight ten, cursing to anyone listening that I had to go to school in the first place. All eyes turned towards me as I paused at the door to Mr. Lancers classroom. 

I momentarily scanned the room- my classmates curious gazes scanning me back- before walking over to Mr. Lancers desk, grabbing the detention slip out of his hand, and sitting down at my desk. My eyes flickered momentarily over the all too familiar paper, my gaze captured by the corner of another detention slip sticking out behind it. I quickly scanned the other slip, Mr. Lancers sloppy cursive evident on the paper.

'See me after class.'

I sighed as I collapsed into my seat, feeling many a pair of eyes burning through me as I lay my head in my arms, wincing slightly as I shifted, the wetness of my ectoplasm infused blood being soaked into the temporary bandages- the very same bandages that made me late in the first place. Sitting up, I attempted to keep up with the lecture, but the schooling that I have been missing lately was supposed to lead up to this, ergo, I'm lost. I dug through my backpack for my notes- most of which were copied off of Sam or Tuck- and quickly found our more recent lectures. I glanced down at the notes every few seconds, linking information from the notes to the current lesson with ease.

"Can anyone tell me why they think F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these colours to represent Gatsby?" I looked around the room, my classmates turning towards each other with confusion etched into their faces. I knew the feeling. Glancing down at my notes one last time, I raised my hand, Mr. Lancers surprise making him pause before he nodded at me.

"Some of the colours are metallic like gold or silver, which represents his wealth, and the pink and white suits represent his hopes for his and Daisy's love." Mr. Lancer blinked before smiling at me.

"Very good Daniel! Now-" Mr. Lancer winced as the bell interrupted him, frowning as he called out our homework to the horde of teens practically sprinting for the door. With only a few stragglers left, I slowly made my way up to Mr. Lancers desk, careful not to aggrivate my wound any further. "Daniel, can you please help me get some supplies from the supply room?" I frowned, pausing for a second before propping my backpack up against Mr. Lancers desk, following him into another room.

"Sure, Mr. Lancer. Whadda'ya need me to carry?" He closed the door before turning and scurrying past me.

"Come now Daniel, do you really think I would make you carry something if I knew you were injured? I came in here bucause I know your want for secrecy." He pulled out a large box labeled 'essays', opening it up to reveal a vast array of wraps, antibiotics, antifungal, sterile needles, I.V., stitching equipment, a stethoscope, and various other medications that I couldn't hope to pronounce.

"Wow, Mr. Lancer, this is more than just some old first aid kit. Trust me, I know. I had to buy about seven different ones to get my first aid kit together, and this must be at least nine or ten."

"Well, I- I couldn't sleep after we got back. I kept thinking about everything that had happened, and I thought back to everything I'd ever said to you before that and I-" He bit down hard on his lip, so hard I thought it was going to start bleeding, actually.

"Hey, no worries Mr. Lancer. You didn't know. I take pride in my secret keeping abilities thank-you-very-much." I managed to get a small smile out of him, but my own smile turned to a frown when I saw what he was holding. "Hey, don't worry about it Mr. Lancer. I've already bandaged it up, I can sew it up at break."

"What, and let you run around with a gaping wound in your side? Not happening, Mr. Fenton. Besides, I do know how to sew wounds, if that's what you're worried about." He turned back towards me, needle and thread in hand.

"No, no. I didn't know how to sew at the beginning. That didn't stop me. Hence the large scars." I lifted my shirt up and over the wound, the red and green bandages falling immediately when I pulled the release strap, landing in my free hand with a gross plop. I heard Mr. Lancer suck in a sharp breath, pausing a moment before getting to work wiping the blood off of my torso. 

I swallowed as I felt the needle repeatedly slide into my skin, the pinch I felt no where near painful, but the thought more uncomfortable than the actual physical stitching. I looked down at the stitching, already feeling my flesh and muscle healing and melding itslelf together as Mr. Lancer turned around to get some fresh wrapping for my side. As I helped him wrap the wound, the late bell for second period rang, making me purse my lips as I thought of my not-so-nice maths teacher giving me some sort of number related punishment.

"Don't worry, Danny. I've got this." He quickly packed up the box before shoving it under the counter with the rest of the inconspicuous looking boxes, picking up a phone that I hadn't seen, since it was behind the kit. "Yeah, hi. It's Mr. Lancer. Can you please call Mr. Telano and tell him that Daniel Fenton is helping me this period? Yes, of course, thank you." I stared at Mr. Lancer as he shuffled over to a tall dresser, opening it and reaching up, pulling the top down. A bed. He had a bed in his classroom. "Its usually for when I have to pull all nighters, but I figure this is a better reason."

"Mr. Lancer, you don't have to-" he raised his hand, stopping me midsentence. 

"You lie there and rest, I have a class to teach. Use your phone, do whatever. There's a plug to your right side, I know you brought your charger, Mr. Fenton, you all do." He exited the supplies room, closing the door as he apologized to his students, explaining that he was stuck looking for some paperwork. I smiled as I layed on the bed, my back to the floor, and closed my eyes. I finally wouldn't get yelled at for sleeping through classes! Thank you Mr. Lancer! I stretched as I stifled a yawn, my side twinging in protest as I twisted onto my good side and curled up into a ball.

•~•~•

"Mr. Fenton? Danny, you need to eat." I groaned and stretched as I forced open my eyes, only to find Mr. Lancer hovering over me with two trays of lunch in his hands, though it wasn't the usual slop that they gave out. He sat a tray on my lap, along with a fork and spoon. "Its from the teachers lounge. I figured that that slop they call lunch wouldn't do much for your healing, so I made sure to get everything you would need. Protien, grain, vitamins, dairy..."

"Mr. Lancer you don't have to-" he shook his head, taking a bite of broccoli.

"I know I don't have to Danny. But neither do you, is that going to stop you?"

"I... suppose not."

"And why is that?" He raised one eyebrow, looking directly at me as I swallowed a bite of potatoes.

"Because it's the right thing to do." I didn't even hesitate, my mouth moving faster than my brain and answering before I could even stop to think.

"Then we understand each other perfectly. Eat up, you need it."

"Wait, Mr. Lancer, is it really lunch time? What about my classes?"

"Despite not needing as much sleep, you still need some, and you're not getting it. Besides, as far as students and faculty know, you're helping me with a ghost related project of mine for class tomorrow. They understand why I didn't want to call your parents in, and they want to avoid having them in if at all possible, so they won't be asking many questions." I paused, my fork of roast beef almost halfway to my mouth, just hovering.

"You thought of everything, didn't you? How could I ever repay you?"

"Taking care of yourself, for one. Letting me help you, of course. Maybe even, heaven forbid, let someone else deal with the ghosts every once in a while." I shook my head. Was he kidding?

"No, seriously-" His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he sat down his tray.

"No, seriously. Take care of yourself. Look at yourself, Daniel. You're thin, covered in scars and bruises and lesions- it's not good for you, Danny. It really isnt." I poked at my food, taking another bite as I stared down at my tray. He was right, but I couldn't just... stop.

"I can't just... I can't just leave the ghosts out there. Who's gonna get them? My parents? I don't think so."

"The red huntress-" I lifted my hand and shook my head, cutting him off. I'm not gonna reveal Valerie, but I'm not about to get her killed to save my own ass.

"Is also a teenager with a secret identity. She also doesn't have as much stamina or pain tolerance that I do. She'd be killed on the first day, or someone else would be because she's out of commission. Look, Mr. Lancer, it's fine, I promise. Would it make you feel better if I tried to eat and sleep a little more?" He nodded, so I shoved another bite of food into my mouth, chewing, and swallowing. 

"Thank you, Daniel." He picked up his own tray as I finished mine off. I looked at him as I swallowed my last bite of food.

"Huh? For what?"

"For doing what you're doing. Your parents hunted you, the red huntress hunts you, and yet you still do everything in your power to protect them, even if they would not return the favour." He finished his food and grabbed my tray, throwing them in the bin in the corner of the room.

"Hunted me. The red huntress hunted me. We have a sort of truce now. But regardless, of course I have to protect them. They were just doing what they thought was right, protecting their families from an evil ghost. They did nothing wrong." Mr. Lancer shook his head.

"You are wise beyond your years, Danny. Still, you must be careful. I cannot imagine your body can take much more of a beating after these few years."

"Mr. Lancer, this is honestly the best I've felt in a long time. I'm okay, I swear. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Hold on, first I want to change your bandages. What do you gave fifth and sixth?" I sighed, lifting my hand and phasing the bandages off.

"Chemestry fifth, sign language sixth." He nodded as he tied off the bandage.

"Alright, at least you're out of P.E. try not to do anything too strenuous, alright?" I smiled, picking up my phone, which I had sat to charge, and my backpack, which had showed up next to me at some point. Mr. Lancer must have brought it in. I smiled at him.

"I'll try, but no promises. Thank you, Mr. Lancer, really." He smiled back, walking over to the door and holding it open as I walked out.

"Anytime, Danny, all you need to do is ask. Maybe next time we'll work on all those missing assignments."

"That would actually help me a ton, thanks Mr. Lancer!" I paused as the end of lunch bell rang. "Sorry, gotta run. Thanks again!" I spun on my heel and bolted out the door as other students poured in, making my way to my next period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So y'all can thank marianamystery for having this chapter today, because they're the ones that inspired me to keep writing! If it weren't for them this wouldn't've been put up so soon, so go give 'em some love! <3
> 
> Also, I'm looking for some 5+1 prompts for one of my other stories, anyone got any ideas? (Its for Danny and Clockwork, Temporal Trust, if that helps?)


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